DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Bombs

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what analyses he has undertaken on the nature and origin of the component parts of improvised explosive devices found in Afghanistan.

John Hutton: In order to protect UK forces, analysis and assessment of the threat posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan continues to receive the highest priority. We routinely analyse IED incidents that occur in Afghanistan, in close consultation with our ISAF partners. I cannot comment further on this type of work as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of UK forces is in assisting the Afghanistan government to deliver its anti-corruption strategy; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness in carrying out that role.

John Hutton: UK forces do not play a role in anti-corruption activity in Afghanistan. However, on 15 December 2008,  Official Report , column 819, the Prime Minister announced to Parliament a multi agency anti-corruption taskforce to assist the Afghan Government in tackling corruption.
	The taskforce is currently agreeing a strategy focused on prevention and political will; enforcement; and accountability. The task force liaises regularly with the Afghan High Office of Oversight, which is the Afghan lead anti-corruption institution, and other relevant Afghan institutions.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for troop deployments to Afghanistan in the next 12 months.

John Hutton: In December 2008, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a temporary uplift in UK force levels in Afghanistan to bring our deployment to around 8,300 troops.
	At the NATO summit the Prime Minister announced an increase in troop numbers on a temporary basis to provide additional security during the forthcoming Afghan presidential elections. Further details will be announced in Parliament shortly.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1015-6W, on modern housing solutions: complaints, how many of the complaints made to Modern Housing Solutions originated in each region.

Kevan Jones: The requested information will take a little time to collate and verify. I will write to the hon. Member.

Armed Forces: Pinch Point Traders

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the infantry rank of  (a) private and  (b) lance corporal became classed as an operational pinch point trade; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The ranks of infantry private and lance corporal were added to the Pinch Point Register on 20 September 2007.

Armed Forces: Pinch Point Traders

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are applied in determining whether a position in the armed forces is classed as an operational pinch point trade.

Bob Ainsworth: An operational pinch point occurs in a branch specialisation, sub-specialisation or area of expertise where the shortfall in trained strength (officers or ratings/other ranks) is such that it has a detrimental impact on operational effectiveness. This might be as a result of adherence to single-service harmony guidelines, under-manning, and/or levels of commitment that exceed the resourced manpower ceiling for the trades or areas of expertise involved.

Armed Forces: Pinch Point Traders

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) trained requirement,  (b) trained strength and  (c) numbers fit for duty of each pinch point trade in the armed forces is.

Bob Ainsworth: As I stated in my reply on 20 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 122-26W, 'Fit for Task' strengths are not routinely recorded and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows the liability, strength and shortfalls, in real numbers and percentage figures.
	
		
			 Shortfall 
			   Liability  Strength  Number  Percentage 
			  Royal Navy 
			  Operational Pinch Point Trades 
			 Lt Cdr X SM Command Qualified (SM(CQ)) 47 45 2 5 
			 Lt X SM IWC Qualified and SQEP 40 39 1 3 
			 Principal Warfare Officers 359 289 70 20 
			 RN Harrier GR7 Instructors 9 6 3 33 
			 RN Harrier GR7 Pilots (inc. Instructors) 33 24 9 27 
			 MCD/MWO Lts 81 47 34 43 
			 Strategic Weapons Systems Junior Ranks 110 86 24 22 
			 Merlin Pilots 122 78 44 36 
			 Merlin Observers 116 71 45 39 
			 Merlin Aircrewmen 103 80 23 22 
			 Leading Seaman General Warfare 1,105 815 290 26 
			 Able Rate Diver 135 95 40 30 
			 Lt X SM Advanced Warfare Course Qualified (SQEP) 34 30 4 12 
			 Able Rate 1 Seaman 388 291 97 25 
			 Able Rate 1 Warfare Specialist 666 635 31 5 
			 Able Rate 1 Communications and Information Systems 367 335 32 9 
			 Leading Aircraft Controllers 73 41 32 44 
			 Royal Marines Other Ranks (Pt-Cpl) 6,525 6,003 522 8 
			 Able Rate Warfare Specialist (Sensors Submariner) 178 144 34 17 
			 Sea-King and Lynx Avionics Supervisors 348 284 64 18 
			 Cat A2 Nuclear Watchkeepers 189 157 32 17 
			 Cat B Nuclear Watchkeepers 377 316 61 16 
			 L Logs (CS) (P) 328 261 67 25 
			 AB Logs (CS) (P) 456 447 9 2 
			 L Logs (Pers) 239 222 17 7 
			 AB Logs (Pers) 392 391 1 0 
			 LS (MW) 70 65 5 8 
			 Able Rate Warfare Specialist (Tactical Submariner) 124 116 8 7 
			  
			  Army 
			  Operational Pinch Point Trades 
			 RE Clk of Wks—SSgt-WO1 248 237 11 44 
			 RLC Ammo Tech—Cpl-SSgt 306 176 130 42.5 
			 Infantry—Pte-LCpl 14,980 13,380 1,600 10.7 
			 REME Rec Mech—LCpl-Cpl 339 213 126 37.2 
			 RE EOD—Cpl-SSgt 131 109 22 16.7 
			 REME VM—Cfn-Cpl 3,521 3,224 297 8.4 
			 Int OPMI—Cpl-Sgt 708 476 232 32.8 
			 REME Armourer—Cfn-Cpl 377 303 74 19.6 
			 RA Gunner—Gnr-Bdr (including Para/Cdo Gnrs and OP Asst) 4,987 4,490 497 10.0 
			  
			  Manning Pinch Point Trades 
			 AMS Radiologist—Maj+ 4 2 2 50.0 
			 AMS ITU Nurse—Cpl-Capt 121 35 86 71.1 
			 AMS EM Nurse—Cpl-Capt 101 38 63 62.4 
			 AMS Radiographer—Cpl+ 24 12 12 50.0 
			 AMS Anaesthetist—Maj+ 49 23 26 53.1 
			 AMS Orth Surg—Maj+ 13 10 3 23.1 
			 AMS Gen Surg—Maj+ 17 10 7 41.2 
			 REME Geo—Spr-WO2 365 284 81 22.2 
			 RLC P&C Op—Pte-Cpl 433 435 -2 -0.5 
			 RA UAV Op—LBdr-SSgt 370 299 71 19.2 
			 REME Fitter—Spr-LCpl 495 409 86 17.4 
			 AGC(SPS) Mil Admin—Pte-Sgt 2,666 2,292 374 14.0 
			 AMS GMP—Capt+ 155 137 18 11.6 
			 R Signals IS Engr—Cpl-Sgt 252 124 128 50.8 
			 CAMUS—Musician 300 199 101 33.7 
			 AMS ODP—Cpl+ 95 81 14 14.7 
			 AMS RGN—Cpl-Sgt 293 263 30 10.2 
			 REME C3S—Spr-LCpl 712 611 101 14.2 
			 RLC Chef—Pte-LCpl 1,459 1,383 76 5.2 
			  Royal Air Force 
			  Operational Pinch Point Trades 
			 Flying Branch (Career Stream)(Senior Officer) 677 576 101 15 
			 Pilot (junior Officer) 1,490 1,288 202 14 
			 Operation Support (Intelligence) 229 224 5 2 
			 Operations Support (Regiment) 275 235 40 15 
			 Operations Support (Flight Operations) 224 219 5 2 
			 Medical 282 213 69 25 
			 Medical Nursing Officer 179 128 51 29 
			 Weapons System Operator (Crewman) 577 503 74 13 
			 Weapons System Operator (Linguist) 63 50 13 21 
			 Mechanical Transport Technician 355 342 13 3 
			 Gunner 1,924 1,702 222 11 
			 Firefighter 545 518 27 4 
			 Air Traffic Controller (ATC)/Flight Operations Manager (FOM)/Flight Operations Assistant (FOA) 1,246 1,228 18 1 
			 Logistics (Mover) 895 849 46 5 
			  
			  Manning Pinch Point Trades 
			 Chaplains 78 63 15 19 
			 Operation Support (Air Traffic Control) 397 371 26 7 
			 Dental 71 57 14 20 
			 Intelligence (Analyst) 679 590 89 13 
			 Musician 175 152 23 13 
			 Weapons System Officer (Junior Officer) 513 439 74 14 
			 Operation Support (Aerospace Battle Manager) 342 293 49 14 
			 Personnel (Support) 521 494 27 5 
			 Personnel (Training) 219 198 21 10 
			 Aircraft Technician (Mechanical) 4,965 4,299 666 13 
			 Aircraft Technician (Avionics) 3,942 3,437 505 13 
			 General Technician (Electrical) 551 491 60 11 
			 General Technician (Mechanical) 963 436 527 55 
			 Biomedical Scientist 15 9 6 40 
			 Survival Equipment Fitter 607 562 45 7 
			 Dental Nurse 131 122 9 7

Armed forces: Parachuting

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) basic and  (b) specialist military parachuting courses have been suspended as a result of aircraft unavailability in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: Over the last 12 months (1 April 2008 to 1 April 2009) a total of 11 parachuting courses were cancelled due to lack of aircraft. Of these, eight were basic courses, including basic regular para; basic TA para; re-qualifying courses, and three were specialist courses including special forces.

Armed forces: Parachuting

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many untrained military parachutists there are in 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Bob Ainsworth: As at 19 April 2009, 16 Air Assault Brigade was authorised to hold 2,434 qualified parachutists. There are 293 personnel in 16 Air Assault Brigade awaiting the basic parachuting course (BPC). A further 445 personnel are no longer current (i.e. have not completed a parachute jump in the last two years). Therefore 30 per cent. (738) of the military parachutists in 16 Air Assault Brigade are not qualified.

Armed Forces: Rescue Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which military bases have provided search and rescue cover in the last 12 months; and how frequently each has provided such cover;
	(2)  what average distance from base to the location of search and rescue activities was in the last 12 months; and what the longest distance from base to such an activity was.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table shows the number of call-outs undertaken by each UK base, the average distance travelled and the longest distance travelled between 1 January and 31 December 2008, the most recent period for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Base  Call-outs  Average distance (nautical miles)  Longest distance (nautical miles) 
			 RAF Boulmer 211 58.3 188.0 
			 RAF Lossiemouth 275 65.8 423.0 
			 RAF Leconfield 232 43.4 316.0 
			 RAF Valley 222 38.9 130.0 
			 RAF Wattisham 174 50.3 240.0 
			 RMB Chivenor 262 36.8 327.0 
			 RNAS Culdrose 204 41.4 529.0 
			 HMS Gannet 382 49.9 253.0 
		
	
	Further data on military search and rescue activities are published by Defence Analysis and Statistical Advice (DASA) and are available to view on the DASA website at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/natstatsindex.html

Armed Forces: Resignations

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers bought themselves out of the Army in each year since 1998.

Bob Ainsworth: As soldiers are no longer able to buy themselves out, this question has been interpreted to mean all those individuals who voluntarily left the Army.
	Due to the ongoing validation of data on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system, a break down of exit by reason, including voluntary outflow (VO), cannot currently be produced for the Army from 28 February 2007 onwards.
	However, the following table shows the number of soldiers leaving under 'VO' from 1998 to 28 February 2007:
	
		
			  Soldier voluntary outflow from trained strength to civil life 
			  Financial year  Number of voluntary outflows 
			 1998-99 5,950 
			 1999-2000 5,310 
			 2000-01 5,310 
			 2001-02 4,980 
			 2002-03 4,610 
			 2003-04 4,500 
			 2004-05 4,880 
			 2005-06 4,620 
			 April 2006 to March 2007(1) 4,410 
			 2007-08 (2)— 
			 (1) Only 11 months of data currently available.( 2 )— denotes unavailable.  Notes:  1. The figures are for trained regular army other ranks (soldiers) only and therefore exclude officers, Gurkhas, Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, full-time reserve service, mobilised reserves, TA and all other reserves.  2. For the purpose of this PQ, VO is defined as all exits from trained personnel which are voluntarily generated by the individual before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period (i.e. time expiry). Females who leave on marriage grounds are included in VO exits.  3. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. 
		
	
	Soldier voluntary outflow figures can be found in Table five of Tri-Service Publication five 'UK Regular Forces Outflow from Trained Strength to Civil Life' which can be viewed on the DASA web at the following link:
	http://bravo.dasa.r.mil.uk.applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=60&date=2009-04-20&pubType=1&PublishTime=09:30:00&from=home&tabOption=3

Army: Health

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of infantry personnel were  (a) unable to deploy and  (b) only able to undertake limited deployment for medical reasons in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: Figures for the period since March 2007 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			   Personnel unable to deploy for medical reasons  Personnel able to undertake limited deployment only for medical reasons 
			   Number  Percentage  of held strength  Number  Percentage  of held strength 
			 March 2007 1,809 8.7 1,015 4.9 
			 March 2008 1,716 8.0 1,174 5.4 
			 April 2009 1,149 5.3 2,099 9.7 
		
	
	The figures are taken from statistics relating to deployable strength of Infantry battalions and include officers and soldiers augmented from other cap badges for deployment purposes.
	Following individual risk assessments, including an assessment of medical facilities in Theatre, the majority of soldiers officially listed as being of limited deployability are able to deploy to Theatre.
	Figures for earlier years are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Atomic Weapons Establishment: Recruitment

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) scientists,  (b) engineers and  (c) technicians the Atomic Weapons Establishment plans to recruit in the next five years; and what their areas of expertise will be.

Quentin Davies: Based on current contract assumptions and subject to any change in priorities, AWE plc is planning to recruit in the order of 110 scientists, 160 engineers and 180 technicians over the next five years. The areas of expertise are diverse, and will include computer, measurement and material science; decommissioning and waste management; facility design and operations; manufacturing; systems engineering; project management; assurance, and IT/telecommunications.

Defence Equipment: Lost Property

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances there were of spare parts lost in transit during each financial year since 2006-07; and what the monetary value was of the loss in each year.

Quentin Davies: Data on losses are not held in such a way that enables the separate identification of 'spare parts'.

Defence: Expenditure

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's budget for urgent operational requirements (UORs) was in each year since their inception; how much was spent on UORs in each such year; what the  (a) budget for and  (b) projected expenditure on UORs is for each year to 2011-12; and how much (i) has been repaid and (ii) is projected to be repaid to HM Treasury in respect of UORs in each such year.

John Hutton: holding answer 24 April 2009
	 Urgent operational requirements (UORs) are, in most cases, funded from outside of the Defence budget through access to the Treasury Reserve. As such the "budget" for UORs is not a limit, but an agreed estimate which has been established in the last two years in order to assist with planning. For the last financial year (2008-09), that estimate was set at £900 million (with facility to roll over committed spend which had not accrued in the previous year), and for this financial year (2009-10) the estimate currently stands at £635 million (with an expected spend from the Reserve of £424 million on the protected mobility package agreed separately).
	Given the urgent and operationally-driven nature of UORs it is not possible to generate long-term estimates with any accuracy and thus no estimates have been made for spend beyond this financial year. For historic expenditure I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place by my noble Friend Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 24 March 2009,  Official Report,  House of Lords, columns WA107-08, to the noble Lord Dr. Moonie. To date no repayments have been made to the Treasury in respect of UORs. Beyond the specific arrangements described in the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 99W, by the Under-Secretary of State for Defence my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies), to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox), no repayments are currently planned.

Departmental Training

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on holding departmental away days at locations other than departmental premises.

Kevan Jones: There is no specific central guidance on this point which is left to the discretion of local business units to decide based on local requirements. Departmental instructions do make it clear that all expenditure on away days and other similar events should be demonstrably necessary, appropriate, cost-effective and an admissible charge against the Defence budget.

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 63W, on departmental training, what training sessions were provided to Ministers in order for them to carry out their duties effectively under the Ministerial Code; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 5 November 2008,  Official Report, column 483W, and 11 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1994W, to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands). Recent MOD Ministers' training has been mandatory pre-deployment training in preparation for visits to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraq and Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the standard unclassified visitors command brief given to visitors to  (a) Operation Telic and  (b) Operation Herrick.

John Hutton: Given the rapid pace of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, command briefs are prepared for individual visitors or groups at an appropriate level of classification for the audience. These briefings do not exist in the format required to be placed in the Library of the House because they are usually verbal.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current percentage shortfall is of required spares for each helicopter type in the  (a) Army Air Corps,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 68W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).

NATO

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 3-4WS, on the NATO Summit, what proposed steps are included in the UK proposal to establish an Alliance Solidarity Force; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The UK put forward the idea of an Alliance Solidarity Force as a tangible demonstration of NATO's determination to deter aggression at short notice against any of its allies. The proposal is that, within the wider NATO Response Force, there should be a small, about 1,500 strong, rapidly deployable multinational task force with a dedicated collective defence role. This proposal is currently being written by NATO for further consideration by allies.

Nuclear Weapons: Finance

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which budget the additional expenditure on the nuclear deterrent announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review is being drawn.

John Hutton: Additional resources were made available to the Ministry of Defence to fund the activity necessary over the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 period to implement the decisions set out in the December 2006 White Paper: "The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994). Those resources are allocated by central staff to Defence Equipment and Support, which is responsible for the acquisition and logistic support of all military equipment.
	The Government have made it clear that the investment required to maintain our deterrent will not come at the expense of the conventional capabilities our armed forces need.

RAF Leuchars

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel will be redeployed and re-assigned as a result of the reduction in the number of Tornado F3 fighter jets at RAF Leuchars.

Bob Ainsworth: Detailed planning is under way and it is too soon to provide details of the outcome of this process. Manpower on the station will be carefully managed, taking account of the planned introduction of Typhoon Squadrons at RAF Leuchars.

RAF Leuchars

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment the Department has made of the likely operational effect of the reduction in the number of Tornado F3 fighter jets based at RAF Leuchars on the commitments of squadrons 43 (Fighter) and III (Fighter).

Bob Ainsworth: The Tornado F3 force will be reduced to a size commensurate with its UK-based air defence duties and those of the Falkland Islands, until it is replaced in the latter role by Typhoon later this year. The Tornado F3 force will continue to maintain the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) North commitment until its out of service date and the transition of UK and Falkland Islands air defence capability between F3 and Typhoon will remain seamless.

RAF Leuchars

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the decision was taken to reduce the number of Tornado F3 fighter jets in operation at RAF Leuchars; and when personnel at the station were informed of the reduction.

Bob Ainsworth: The decision to reduce the number of Tornado F3 was considered in the course of the routine defence planning cycle and taken this April. The station commander at RAF Leuchars was informed of the decision on 8 April 2009. Briefings to station personnel commenced at that time.

RAF Leuchars

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timetable is for the reduction in the number of Tornado F3 fighter jets in operation at RAF Leuchars.

Bob Ainsworth: We plan to reduce the Tornado F3 force by September this year. Work continues to develop the detailed timetable for this reduction.

Somalia: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have been apprehended by Royal Navy vessels operating in the Gulf of Aden in relation to pirate activity in the last 12 months; how many of these have been  (a) released,  (b) transferred to Kenyan custody and  (c) otherwise dealt with; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy has been conducting specific counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008 in order to deter and disrupt pirate activity in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
	UK vessels have been involved in a small number of incidents involving a total of 47 suspected pirates. Of these, eight suspected pirates were considered to have sufficient evidence on which to charge and were subsequently detained and transferred to Kenya for prosecution under the provisions of a Memorandum of Understanding. 37 were permitted to sail back to their coastal waters once all suspected piratical equipment was confiscated. Two suspected pirates were killed during the course of a counter-piracy operation.

Trident: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much he estimates his Department will spend on the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system in each of the next six financial years.

John Hutton: The estimated costs of the programme to maintain the United Kingdom's deterrent capability beyond the life of the current system, as set out in the December 2006 White Paper, 'The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent' (Cm 6994), and endorsed by Parliament on 14 March 2007, over the next two years are:
	
		
			   £ million at outturn prices 
			 2009-10 400 
			 2010-11 400 
		
	
	Costs are greater in 2009-10 than previously announced due to the agreement with the US to design and manufacture a Common Missile Compartment. However, this is the result of re-profiling of funding rather than cost growth in that year and the overall budgetary provision for the successor deterrent has not changed.
	Spending plans for 2011-12 and beyond will be set as part of the Government's spending review process.

War Pensions

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are in receipt of a war pension.

Kevan Jones: As at 31 December 2008, there were 159,300 disablement pensioners in receipt of a war pension.

Warships: Deployment

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total nautical mileage undertaken by the Royal Navy surface fleet was in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on nautical mileage undertaken by the Royal Navy surface fleet is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the sums to be allocated to farming subsidies by his Department in each of the next six financial years.

Jane Kennedy: The table shows ceilings (maximum amounts) that the UK can draw from the EU budget (which the UK contributes to) to make direct payments to farmers under EU support schemes included in pillar 1 of the EU common agricultural policy. The totals reflect amounts subtracted where modulation arrangements have been applied (the subtracted funds being redirected to pillar 2).
	The vast majority of these payments fall under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), and are decoupled from production. Actual payments will depend on future changes to EU legislation, future decisions on modulation, and factors such as the application of financial discipline; but will in any case be less than the permitted ceilings.
	
		
			  UK direct payments 
			  Calendar year  UK direct payments (modulation subtracted) (€ million) 
			 2009 3,370 
			 2010 3,340 
			 2011 3,330 
			 2012 3,340 
		
	
	Current forecasts are only available up to 2012.

Climate Change: Finance

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on climate change adaptation measures in 2008-09.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA delivers the 'Adapting to Climate Change Programme', which is a cross-Government programme which aims to help society adapt to climate change. The role of the programme is to develop and provide a comprehensive evidence base including adaptation tools, to raise awareness of the need to adapt, to measure success and to work across Government at all levels to embed adaptation.
	Measuring adapting to climate change in expenditure does not give a full picture, it is also about encouraging behaviour change and increasing resilience to risk which does not always involve additional expenditure.
	DEFRA and DECC jointly fund the Hadley Centre, and we also fund the production the new UK Climate Projections, due to be launched in summer 2009.
	Adapting to climate change forms parts of many areas of DEFRA's work, and it is not always possible to distinguish the costs associated with adaptation. In many cases it will be the way we do something that will help us adapt, rather than a specific project. So it is not possible accurately to estimate the total amount of expenditure on adaptation measures, for example in areas such as animal health, farming and protection of the environment.
	A range of other activities which DEFRA leads on will also help adapt to climate change, for example, the introduction of measures to assist communities in adapting to future risks from flooding and work arising from recommendations in the Pitt review. This comes from the central DEFRA budget so it is incorporated into a wider range of expenditure which delivers many benefits, not only on adaptation.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average server capacity utilisation by each division of his Department was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following figures show an average 24/7 central processing unit utilisation for those servers covered by IBM's server monitoring tool during March and April 2009.
	 CPU utilisation
	15 per cent. on Unix servers
	6 per cent. on Wintel servers
	We have not been able to produce historical information without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Providing figures broken down to divisional level is not possible. Many servers are shared across the Department by a number of divisions. Figures for individual usage could therefore not be obtained.

Departmental Redundancy

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of his Department's staff have been made redundant in each of the last three years; how much compensation was paid to those made redundant in each of the last three years; how many people he expects to be made redundant from his Department in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010; how much he expects to pay in compensation in respect of such redundancies in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table (table 1) indicates how many staff from DEFRA have been made redundant in each of the last three years and how much compensation was paid to those made redundant. Please note that information is provided in financial years, not calendar years.
	For staff leaving on compulsory or flexible severance terms 'compensation' refers to the lump sum compensation payment made. For staff leaving on compulsory, flexible or approved early retirement schemes 'compensation' includes lump sum compensation payment, capitalised cost of paying pension or annual compensation payment, pension enhancement and the cost of bringing forward payment of pension lump sum.
	The level of compensation paid to each individual is in accordance with the rules set out in the relevant Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of staff made redundant and compensation paid over the previous three financial years 
			  Financial year  Number of staff  Compensation (£ to the nearest 25,000) 
			 2008-09 8 200,000 
			 2007-08 11 675,000 
			 2006-07 22 400,000 
		
	
	The following table (table 2) indicates how many staff are expected to be made redundant in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and estimated amount of compensation. Again, information is provided in financial rather than calendar years and the definitions of 'compensation' used above stand.
	
		
			  Table 2: Estimated number of staff likely to be made redundant and estimated compensation for financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  Financial year( 1)  Number of staff  Compensation (£ to the nearest 25,000) 
			 2009-10 5 (2)200,000 
			 2010-11 0 n/a 
			 (1) Please see below for narrative regarding work force planning for 2009-10 and 2010-11. (2) Approximately. 
		
	
	The five people noted above for financial year 2009-10 are currently undertaking redundancy and redeployment processes which will conclude during 2009. We will continue to work with staff, trade unions and the Cabinet Office throughout the redundancy and redeployment period to try and secure suitable alternative employment wherever possible. However, should any of these individuals not secure suitable alternative employment within a reasonable time, they will be issued notice of redundancy.

Farmers

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of  (a) hill and  (b) dairy farmers who will leave the industry in 2009.

Jane Kennedy: The Department has made no estimate of the number of hill farmers or dairy farmers who will leave the industry in 2009.

Farmers: Income

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated income of the  (a) farming and (b) dairy farming sector was in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The estimated Farm Business Income(1) of  (a) all farm types and  (b) dairy farms for 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average farm business income( 1 ) per farm 
			  £/farm 
			  Farm type  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 2) 
			 All farm types 34,400 48,100 44,300 
			 Dairy 30,800 55,100 72,800 
			 (1) Farm Business Income represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and directors and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. (2 )Provisional  Note: Years ending in end-February  Source: Farm Business Survey

Fisheries: Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will seek an agreement with Polisario to allow UK vessels to fish the waters off Western Sahara following the declaration of an exclusive economic zone covering those waters.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The current EU/Morocco Fisheries Partnership agreement was signed in 2006 and sets out the terms for which UK and other European fishing vessels may fish in the waters off the coast of Western Sahara. The agreement does not prejudice the issue of the status of Western Sahara, which the UK regards as undetermined pending UN efforts to find a resolution, nor does it represent recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Maritime waters off Western Sahara.
	In the event that an exclusive economic zone was declared, and internationally recognised, the EU would need to consider whether or not it wished to have an agreement with Western Sahara. If it was decided that no such agreement should be entered into, UK vessel owners would still be free to enter into private agreements with Western Sahara.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) minutes,  (b) presentations and  (c) handouts from his Department's sixth Waste Strategy stakeholder group meeting.

Jane Kennedy: A copy of the minutes, presentations and handouts from the sixth Waste stakeholder group meeting has been placed in the Library.

Waste Management: Essex

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the conclusions of the Essex Waste Plan; when he expects to publish them; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: It is for Essex county council to decide if and when to publish the conclusions of the Essex Waste Plan. There is no obligation for DEFRA to do this.

Waste Regional Advisory Group

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) membership and  (b) remit of the Waste Regional Advisory Group in each Government office region is.

Jane Kennedy: Waste Regional Advisory Groups (WRAGs) were established by some Government offices to assist in the dissemination of funding from the Waste Implementation Programme's Regional Support Fund (RSF). However, the South West, Yorkshire and Humber, North East and North West regions maintained their WRAGs when RSF funding ceased. Details of membership and the specific remit of individual WRAGs can be sought from the relevant Government office.

Water: Pollution

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 15 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2033W, on bromine, when he expects to make a decision on the appeal relating to the Sandridge bromate contamination in Hertfordshire.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Further to the answer to the previous question on this issue, the Secretary of State made a provisional decision on the two appeals in November 2008. The proposed decision would result in changes to the remediation notice which is the subject of the appeals. A further round of consultation with the relevant parties was, therefore, initiated under the Contaminated Land Regulations 2006 which set out the legal framework in this area. This period of consultation has recently ended, and the Secretary of State is currently considering the responses received to determine whether these affect the proposed decision. If there is no change to the proposed decision, the Secretary of State would expect to issue the decision before the summer recess.

Whales: Conservation

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has held discussions with his counterparts in anti-whaling nations on policy to prevent resumption of commercial whaling; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: UK officials met with those of other likeminded anti-whaling countries at the intersessional meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and also with EU countries, in March. At both meetings, the UK stressed its continued support for the moratorium on commercial whaling and the risks attendant upon allowing any exceptions to it.

Whales: Conservation

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that the work of the International Whaling Commission's Small Working Group does not lead to a resumption of commercial whaling; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The UK has consistently voiced its opposition to commercial whaling to the Small Working Group of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which is looking at the future of the IWC. The UK would not agree to any proposal which it considered was likely to be detrimental to either the welfare or the conservation of whales.

Whales: Conservation

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in anti-whaling nations on the announcement by Iceland of a whaling quota of 100 minke whales and 150 endangered fin whales for 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: UK officials discussed Iceland's decision to issue new whaling quotas, including what representation might be appropriate following the forthcoming election in Iceland, when they met with those of other like-minded countries at the recent intersessional meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Rome, in March.

Wolf-dogs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the practice of breeding and keeping F3-generation wolf-dogs with a high percentage of wolf DNA; what requirements there are to apply for a licence for such activity under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The keeping of wolves, and certain hybrids, is controlled under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 and licences to do so are required from local authorities who administer and enforce the 1976 Act.
	The 1976 Act contains no provisions relating to the breeding of wolf hybrids and there has been no assessment of such practice in this respect.
	The schedule, or list, of species requiring a licence under the 1976 Act was revised in 2007. The general entry for "mammal hybrids" was amended so as to ensure that keeping both first and second generation hybrids, including wolf hybrids, requires a licence. Third generation hybrids, or generations further removed, in this instance, from the original wolf content, do not require a licence.
	DEFRA and the RSPCA jointly funded research into the keeping of wolf-dog hybrids which was published in 2001. The contractors found that very few wolf hybrids were kept and that advertisements for wolf-dogs were generally misleading and had been embellished to attract public interest and justify high prices.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Relations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the outcomes of her Department's consultation on a framework for inter-faith dialogue and social action within local communities.

Sadiq Khan: Following an extensive consultation process, my Department published "Face to Face and Side by Side—a Framework for Partnership in our Multi Faith Society" in July 2008. The aims of the document were to create more local opportunities both for 'face to face' dialogue between people from different religious backgrounds, and for 'side by side' collaborative social action.
	We are making very good progress in implementing the framework. For instance, we will shortly be announcing the innovative local inter-faith projects around England which will be receiving funding under round 1 of the £4 million Faiths in Action scheme. We have invested £3.5 million to support the capacity of regional faith forums. We are working with the Inter Faith Network for the UK to deliver inter-faith week, a week of activities in November which will celebrate and promote inter-faith activity at local, regional and national level. A number of other commitments on the framework are also being taken forward.

Violent Extremism (Prevention)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the oral answer of 21 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 140-41W, on violent extremism (prevention), when the Minister for Community Cohesion wrote to local authorities about the monitoring of preventing violent extremism funding.

Sadiq Khan: I wrote to local authorities who will receive Prevent funding as part of their area-based grant between 2008-09 and 2010-11 on 12 February 2009.

Community Relations: Immigration

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision she has made in her Department's budget for the integration of migrants for the next six financial years.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Communities and Local Government has budgeted £50 million in the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 to support integration and community cohesion and to assist local authorities in preventing and managing community tensions. This includes £7.5 million to develop inter-faith activity and £4.5 million to help schools and others offer positive activities for young people. CLG has also contributed £50,000 in start-up funding to help the East of England Development Agency develop an information portal to help migrants find out more about living and working in the UK.
	Communities and Local Government is also co-ordinating the allocation of the new cross-Government Migration Impacts Fund. This will provide £35 million in 2009-10 to local services managing the transitional pressures of migration. It will be paid for through increases to migrant fees. Subject to a review in the autumn of the economic position and the migrant fees being received, a similar amount will be made available in 2010-11.
	Provision for 2011-12 and beyond will be determined by future Spending Reviews.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure that prospective  (a) buyers and  (b) tenants in the (i) social and (ii) private rented sector are provided with an energy performance certificate for the property; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (2007/991) for England and Wales came into force for all property on 1 October 2008. From this date a valid Energy Performance Certificate was required to be made available free of charge to any prospective buyer or tenant. Enforcement of the regulations is a matter for trading standards officers.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes for  (a) social and  (b) private rent have been issued with an energy performance certificate in each of the last three years.

Margaret Beckett: The Department does not record information about whether new homes for which Energy Performance Certificates have been issued are in either the private or social rented sectors.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the number of residential properties in the  (a) private and  (b) social rented sector which have received an energy performance certificate.

Margaret Beckett: The requirement for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for homes in the social and private rental sectors came into force on 1 October 2008. The facility to lodge rental EPCs in the central register became available on 22 September 2008. In the period since 22 September 2008, 537,413 EPCs have been lodged in the private rented and 204,294 EPCs have been lodged in the social rented sector.

Equal Opportunities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress her Department has made in improving the visibility of black male role models since December 2007.

Sadiq Khan: The REACH report recommended that the Government should take action to improve the visibility of positive black male role models. The panel who wrote the REACH report envisioned a network of 20 national champions who would be used to challenge negative stereotyping, and support a network of black male role models in local communities. We have been working very closely with members of the REACH panel to ensure that their vision is realised.
	On 3 December 2008 the Department launched the National Black Role Model Programme, and announced the names of the 20 National Role Models. These individuals are now working as champions of the programme, engaging at a national level and spearheading the work. The Role Models are being supported by the Windsor Fellowship, an organisation with very strong links to the black community at a grass roots level whom we are now funding to deliver the Role Models Programme.

Fire Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the lease upon each regional fire control centre commenced; on what date rent started to be paid on each lease; and on what date each centre began operations.

Sadiq Khan: The information requested is set out in the following table, broken down by region.
	
		
			  Region  Lease commencement date  Rent commencement date 
			 North East 6 June 2007 13 April 2008 
			 East Midlands 6 June 2007 20 January 2008 
			 South West 22 August 2007 15 February 2008 
			 West Midlands 31 December 2007 4 October 2008 
			 North West 8 July 2008 1 January 2009 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 8 July 2008 14 April 2009 
			 East of England 8 October 2008 21 April 2009 
			 South East 12 June 2008 14 November 2008 
			 London (projected) 26 February 2010 26 November 2010 
		
	
	The buildings are undergoing a fit out programme at present to bring them into a fully operational state. No regional control centre has yet begun operation. The current schedule for cut over was set out in the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 248-50W, setting out the revised cut over schedule.

Fire Services: Emergency Calls

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) genuine and  (b) malicious false fire emergency calls were received in (i) Greater Manchester and (ii) the North West in each of the last five years.

Sadiq Khan: The information requested is available in the following tables.
	
		
			  False fire alarms by FRS and type, England, 2003-07( 1) 
			   2003  2004 
			  FRS area  Total  Malicious  Good intent  Due to apparatus  Total  Malicious  Good intent  Due to apparatus 
			  England 382,283 46,351 107,607 228,325 365,304 39,229 91,178 234,897 
			  
			  North East 19,603 2,403 5,656 11,544 17,825 1,799 4,620 11,406 
			 Cleveland 4,372 569 1,515 2,288 3,746 394 1,254 2,098 
			 Durham 3,683 669 1,309 1,705 3,569 377 1,027 2,165 
			 Northumberland 2,037 200 459 1,378 1,914 166 394 1,354 
			 Tyne and Wear 9,511 965 2,373 6,173 8,596 862 1,945 5,789 
			  
			  North West 55,939 9,840 14,361 31,738 52,173 8,044 11,302 32,827 
			 Cheshire 5,641 569 1,023 4,049 5,296 535 823 3,938 
			 Cumbria 3,056 370 669 2,017 2,696 184 488 2,024 
			 Greater Manchester 23,342 5,200 5,771 12,371 22,209 4,572 4,564 13,073 
			 Lancashire 11,556 1,320 3,439 6,797 11,285 1,205 2,904 7,176 
			 Merseyside 12,344 2,381 3,459 6,504 10,687 1,548 2,523 6,616 
			  
			  Yorkshire and The Humber 40,330 5,423 10,996 23,911 37,877 4,207 9,051 24,619 
			 Humberside 6,034 717 1,936 3,381 5,654 642 1,629 3,383 
			 North Yorkshire 4,603 310 960 3,333 5,086 384 922 3,780 
			 South Yorkshire 9,195 2,109 2,868 4,218 7,566 1,131 2,226 4,209 
			 West Yorkshire 20,498 2,287 5,232 12,979 19,571 2,050 4,274 13,247 
			  
			  East Midlands 26,801 2,766 7,090 16,945 26,304 2,706 6,344 17,254 
			 Derbyshire 6,244 619 1,739 3,886 5,986 574 1,490 3,922 
			 Leicestershire 6,015 531 1,447 4,037 5,914 533 1,234 4,147 
			 Lincolnshire 3,159 505 884 1,770 3,200 562 776 1,862 
			 Northamptonshire 4,260 388 1,166 2,706 4,371 344 1,145 2,882 
			 Nottinghamshire 7,123 723 1,854 4,546 6,833 693 1,699 4,441 
			  
			  West Midlands 40,028 5,297 13,134 21,597 39,467 4,670 11,471 23,326 
			 Hereford and Worcester 4,130 301 1,165 2,664 4,086 323 901 2,862 
			 Shropshire 2,251 202 665 1,384 2,112 203 636 1,273 
			 Staffordshire 6,166 624 1,647 3,895 6,150 535 1,421 4,194 
			 Warwickshire 3,539 160 998 2,381 3,490 174 931 2,385 
			 West Midlands 23,942 4,010 8,659 11,273 23,629 3,435 7,582 12,612 
			  
			  East of England 35,183 3,363 10,521 21,299 32,390 2,910 8,960 20,520 
			 Bedfordshire 3,287 355 1,062 1,870 2,973 289 788 1,896 
			 Cambridgeshire 6,096 348 1,507 4,241 6,220 352 1,427 4,441 
			 Essex 10,669 1,600 4,236 4,833 9,971 1,485 3,696 4,790 
			 Hertfordshire 6,263 438 1,587 4,238 4,947 234 1,155 3,558 
			 Norfolk 4,788 273 1,218 3,297 4,448 221 1,109 3,118 
			 Suffolk 4,080 349 911 2,820 3,831 329 785 2,717 
			  
			  Greater London 74,709 9,565 16,148 48,996 74,692 8,558 14,244 51,890 
			  
			  South East 55,525 4,378 18,466 32,681 53,593 3,788 15,638 34,167 
			 Berkshire 6,710 596 1,862 4,252 6,645 561 1,744 4,340 
			 Buckinghamshire 3,913 351 1,170 2,392 4,099 318 674 3,107 
			 East Sussex 5,869 471 3,973 1,425 5,684 439 3,751 1,494 
			 Hampshire 10,203 779 2,916 6,508 9,827 666 2,431 6,730 
			 Isle of Wight 788 60 465 263 718 78 215 425 
			 Kent 11,015 1,173 3,805 6,037 9,819 773 3,160 5,886 
			 Oxfordshire 2,378 163 757 1,458 2,368 163 709 1,496 
			 Surrey 7,997 420 1,824 5,753 7,904 420 1,476 6,008 
			 West Sussex 6,652 365 1,694 4,593 6,529 370 1,478 4,681 
			  
			  South West 34,165 3,316 11,235 19,614 30,983 2,547 9,548 18,888 
			 Avon 10,070 1,666 3,321 5,083 8,750 1,271 2,548 4,931 
			 Cornwall 2,403 171 850 1,382 2,034 120 758 1,156 
			 Devon 7,514 618 1,680 5,216 6,954 406 1,543 5,005 
			 Dorset 4,473 315 2,968 1,190 4,336 351 2,729 1,256 
			 Gloucestershire 3,142 133 928 2,081 3,469 133 808 2,528 
			 Isles of Scilly 11 0 8 3 7 0 1 6 
			 Somerset 2,828 234 675 1,919 2,288 155 444 1,689 
			 Wiltshire 3,724 179 805 2,740 3,145 111 717 2,317 
		
	
	
		
			   2005  2006 
			  FRS area  Total  Malicious  Good intent  Due to apparatus  Total  Malicious  Good intent  Due to apparatus 
			  England 354,786 30,264 92,151 232,371 349,846 25,428 94,651 229,767 
			  
			  North East 18,196 1,421 5,511 11,264 18,485 1,316 6,712 10,457 
			 Cleveland 4,093 321 2,108 1,664 4,647 274 2,786 1,587 
			 Durham 3,619 290 1,079 2,250 3,063 281 1,063 1,719 
			 Northumberland 1,821 143 401 1,277 1,527 128 473 926 
			 Tyne and Wear 8,663 667 1,923 6,073 9,248 633 2,390 6,225 
			  
			  North West 49,699 6,419 11,668 31,612 45,989 4,534 11,682 29,773 
			 Cheshire 5,216 458 1,180 3,578 5,111 368 1,100 3,643 
			 Cumbria 2,830 171 576 2,083 2,696 148 557 1,991 
			 Greater Manchester 20,456 3,353 4,389 12,714 20,210 2,319 4,832 13,059 
			 Lancashire 11,008 1,092 2,927 6,989 8,589 680 2,478 5,431 
			 Merseyside 10,189 1,345 2,596 6,248 9,383 1,019 2,715 5,649 
			  
			  Yorkshire and The Humber 37,371 3,665 9,269 24,437 37,285 3,180 9,994 24,111 
			 Humberside 5,588 536 1,633 3,419 5,475 488 1,484 3,503 
			 North Yorkshire 5,090 467 933 3,690 4,672 283 1,037 3,352 
			 South Yorkshire 7,507 831 2,347 4,329 7,342 767 2,700 3,875 
			 West Yorkshire 19,186 1,831 4,356 12,999 19,796 1,642 4,773 13,381 
			  
			  East Midlands 25,912 2,378 6,538 16,996 25,717 2,142 6,471 17,104 
			 Derbyshire 5,794 456 1,592 3,746 5,737 489 1,616 3,632 
			 Leicestershire 5,836 440 1,287 4,109 6,090 423 1,284 4,383 
			 Lincolnshire 3,181 490 799 1,892 3,379 430 779 2,170 
			 Northamptonshire 4,298 342 1,163 2,793 3,926 240 1,172 2,514 
			 Nottinghamshire 6,803 650 1,697 4,456 6,585 560 1,620 4,405 
			  
			  West Midlands 38,195 4,234 10,317 23,644 37,777 3,774 9,972 24,031 
			 Hereford and Worcester 4,004 283 900 2,821 3,972 265 926 2,781 
			 Shropshire 2,113 173 639 1,301 2,239 160 705 1,374 
			 Staffordshire 6,402 450 1,594 4,358 6,803 395 1,609 4,799 
			 Warwickshire 3,677 299 919 2,459 3,992 345 1,043 2,604 
			 West Midlands 21,999 3,029 6,265 12,705 20,771 2,609 5,689 12,473 
			  
			  East of England 31,103 2,472 9,514 19,117 32,773 2,308 10,998 19,467 
			 Bedfordshire 2,053 259 491 1,303 2,735 178 1,354 1,203 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,886 313 1,292 4,281 6,280 337 1,337 4,606 
			 Essex 10,224 1,249 4,481 4,494 10,029 1,146 4,743 4,140 
			 Hertfordshire 4,576 252 1,408 2,916 4,772 230 1,393 3,149 
			 Norfolk 4,370 197 1,073 3,100 4,845 209 1,308 3,328 
			 Suffolk 3,994 202 769 3,023 4,112 208 863 3,041 
			  Greater London 71,329 4,429 13,921 52,979 69,089 3,227 13,239 52,623 
			  
			  South East 53,298 3,121 16,121 34,056 53,599 2,999 16,846 33,754 
			 Berkshire 5,785 286 1,348 4,151 6,206 341 1,375 4,490 
			 Buckinghamshire 4,170 251 651 3,268 4,271 233 682 3,356 
			 East Sussex 5,817 399 3,879 1,539 6,174 393 4,150 1,631 
			 Hampshire 10,018 592 2,695 6,731 9,565 612 3,018 5,935 
			 Isle of Wight 793 75 159 559 809 74 227 508 
			 Kent 9,900 718 3,396 5,786 9,977 550 3,295 6,132 
			 Oxfordshire 2,622 139 831 1,652 2,504 143 749 1,612 
			 Surrey 7,727 351 1,554 5,822 8,016 381 1,650 5,985 
			 West Sussex 6,466 310 1,608 4,548 6,077 272 1,700 4,105 
			  
			  South West 29,683 2,125 9,292 18,266 29,132 1,948 8,737 18,447 
			 Avon 8,331 1,056 2,210 5,065 8,512 880 2,089 5,543 
			 Cornwall 2,053 124 739 1,190 2,125 254 655 1,216 
			 Devon 6,715 356 1,484 4,875 6,175 320 1,479 4,376 
			 Dorset 4,221 276 2,736 1,209 3,632 222 2,332 1,078 
			 Gloucestershire 3,730 142 925 2,663 3,600 84 802 2,714 
			 Isles of Scilly 11 1 4 6 7 0 5 2 
			 Somerset 1,564 79 494 991 1,744 78 644 1,022 
			 Wiltshire 3,058 91 700 2,267 3,337 110 731 2,496 
		
	
	
		
			   2007 
			  FRS area  Total  Malicious  Good intent  Due to apparatus 
			  England 334,255 22,306 94,534 217,415 
			  
			  North East 17,943 1,243 7,127 9,573 
			 Cleveland 4,510 219 2,818 1,473 
			 Durham 2,932 257 1,062 1,613 
			 Northumberland 1,516 89 430 997 
			 Tyne and Wear 8,985 678 2,817 5,490 
			  
			  North West 46,026 4,026 12,376 29,624 
			 Cheshire 4,923 266 1,335 3,322 
			 Cumbria 2,599 120 533 1,946 
			 Greater Manchester 19,624 1,951 4,855 12,818 
			 Lancashire 10,254 832 3,214 6,208 
			 Merseyside 8,626 857 2,439 5,330 
			  
			  Yorkshire and The Humber 34,950 2,586 10,730 21,634 
			 Humberside 5,028 394 1,553 3,081 
			 North Yorkshire 4,019 232 1,010 2,777 
			 South Yorkshire 6,979 574 2,668 3,737 
			 West Yorkshire 18,924 1,386 5,499 12,039 
			  
			  East Midlands 26,092 1,875 6,805 17,412 
			 Derbyshire 5,717 416 1,544 3,757 
			 Leicestershire 5,785 393 1,259 4,133 
			 Lincolnshire 3,020 264 930 1,826 
			 Northamptonshire 4,781 254 1,405 3,122 
			 Nottinghamshire 6,789 548 1,667 4,574 
			  
			  West Midlands 34,660 3,277 10,929 20,454 
			 Hereford and Worcester 3,860 196 905 2,759 
			 Shropshire 2,039 137 665 1,237 
			 Staffordshire 6,700 377 3,687 2,636 
			 Warwickshire 3,382 257 925 2,200 
			 West Midlands 18,679 2,310 4,747 11,622 
			  East of England 30,678 1,991 10,194 18,493 
			 Bedfordshire 2,554 213 883 1,458 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,564 312 1,264 3,988 
			 Essex 9,711 956 4,696 4,059 
			 Hertfordshire 4,596 176 1,312 3,108 
			 Norfolk 4,667 162 1,207 3,298 
			 Suffolk 3,586 172 832 2,582 
			  
			  Greater London 66,807 2,818 12,908 51,081 
			  
			  South East 50,431 3,041 15,080 32,310 
			 Berkshire 5,989 362 1,400 4,227 
			 Buckinghamshire 3,781 215 765 2,801 
			 East Sussex 6,166 351 2,321 3,494 
			 Hampshire 7,746 505 3,205 4,036 
			 Isle of Wight 754 66 213 475 
			 Kent 9,737 528 3,181 6,028 
			 Oxfordshire 2,454 128 701 1,625 
			 Surrey 7,877 609 1,616 5,652 
			 West Sussex 5,927 277 1,678 3,972 
			  
			  South West 26,668 1,449 8,385 16,834 
			 Avon 7,356 658 2,064 4,634 
			 Cornwall 1,922 100 678 1,144 
			 Devon 5,372 263 1,371 3,738 
			 Dorset 3,530 190 2,095 1,245 
			 Gloucestershire 3,362 64 758 2,540 
			 Isles of Scilly 9 0 3 6 
			 Somerset 1,832 82 667 1,083 
			 Wiltshire 3,285 92 749 2,444 
			 (1) Provisional  Source: CLG

Homes and Communities Agency

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have provided her Department with confidential advice, as referred to in the management statement, in each of the last three years.

Margaret Beckett: The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.
	The only reference to the provision of confidential advice in a Framework Document or management statement of the Homes and Communities Agency or one of its predecessor bodies is found in the management statement of the Housing Corporation.
	However, given the volume of correspondence between the Housing Corporation and Communities and Local Government, specific pieces of advice that were given in confidence in accordance with the management statement over the last three years cannot be identified without disproportionate cost and effort.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Homes and Communities Agency's total expenditure was in 2008-09; and what its estimated outturn had been for that year.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 19 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1076, which gave information on the Homes and Communities Agency's estimated outturn for 2008-09.
	2008-09 total outturn figures for the HCA will be published in its first annual report and accounts.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what end year flexibility entitlements were taken up by her Department in relation to  (a) the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies,  (b) the Tenant Services authority and  (c) other housing programmes in each of the last five years.

Margaret Beckett: The information requested is set out in the following table. It is not possible to distinguish between the end year flexibility (EYF) entitlements taken up by the Department in relation to the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority predecessor bodies. Information about EYF in 2004-05 could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Homes and Communities Agency, Tenant Services Authority and predecessors 176,132 10,657 0 0 
			 Other Housing programmes 18,521 42,989 138,041 0

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Open Market HomeBuy equity loan redemptions there were in each of the last three years.

Margaret Beckett: The following table sets out the number of Open Market HomeBuy equity loan redemptions (both full and partial), and the number of shared owners increasing their equity shares in their homes, for each of the last three years for which figures are available. No breakdown is available between equity loan redemptions and redemptions by shared owners.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number 
			 2005-06 1,265 
			 2006-07 1,704 
			 2007-08 1,678

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much was allocated to each region from the national Affordable Housing programme in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how much she expects to be allocated to each region from the national Affordable Housing programme in each of the next three years.

Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the expenditure in each region through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing programme for 2006-07, 2007-08 and provisional figures for 2008-09.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 1) 
			 North East 43 37 58 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 65 72 102 
			 North West 111 108 195 
			 East of England 153 191 272 
			 East Midlands 74 85 134 
			 West Midlands 97 97 198 
			 London 887 855 1003 
			 South East 374 383 427 
			 South West 114 175 236 
			 Total 1,918 2,003 2,625 
			 (1) Provisional 
		
	
	The following table shows indicative allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 for each region. Some of the programme is held centrally such as the Growth Support (Affordable Housing) Fund, mortgage rescue and HomeBuy Direct.
	Allocations have not yet been adjusted to reflect Budget changes announced on 22 April.
	
		
			  Homes and Communities Agency Affordable Housing programme indicative regional allocations 
			  £ million 
			   2009-10  2010-11 
			 North East 65 47 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 125 94 
			 East Midlands 124 90 
			 East of England 285 205 
			 London 1,258 928 
			 South East 490 374 
			 South West 287 204 
			 West Midlands 181 144 
			 North West 206 156 
			 Not allocated to regions 550 150 
			 Total 3,571 2,392 
		
	
	Allocations for 2011-12 will be subject of the next spending review.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1542W, on the HomeBuy scheme, how many properties initially marketed as a HomeBuy Direct property have since been withdrawn from the scheme.

Margaret Beckett: No properties that have been marketed by developers as HomeBuy Direct properties have subsequently been withdrawn from the scheme.

Housing: Low Incomes

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in the last five years.

Iain Wright: Information on new affordable homes built by constituency is not available. The following table shows the number of new affordable homes built in Ribble Valley local authority, Lancashire, and England between 2003-04 and 2007-08.
	
		
			   Area 
			   Ribble Valley local authority  Lancashire  England 
			 2003-04 0 320 23,890 
			 2004-05 0 320 26,930 
			 2005-06 10 350 33,260 
			 2006-07 20 290 36,260 
			 2007-08 20 560 43,560 
		
	
	Affordable housing figures are collated from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS); and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) returns and P2 house building returns submitted to CLG by local authorities and the National House-Building Council (NHBC).
	Not all affordable housing is provided by new build completions, as some supply can come from acquisitions. An additional 10,170 affordable homes were acquired in England in 2007-08; these are not included in the table above.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households are expected to receive assistance from the mortgage rescue scheme's  (a) shared equity programme and  (b) Government mortgage to rent programme (i) in total and (ii) as a proportion of the total number of housing repossessions in the next year.

Margaret Beckett: The £200 million Government mortgage rescue scheme has been operational across the country since 1 January 2009. The scheme aims to support up to 6,000 vulnerable households in England at risk of repossession over the next two years. The scheme consists of two options, Government Mortgage to Rent and Shared Equity. The Government have not made any estimates of the number of households they expect to benefit from each of the two options of the scheme, neither do they make projections of the total number of housing repossessions. The mortgage rescue scheme is demand-led, with the number of vulnerable households benefiting from each of the scheme's options dependent on the circumstances of eligible households approaching their local authority for assistance.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the mortgage rescue scheme's  (a) shared equity programme and  (b) Government mortgage to rent programme will become operational.

Margaret Beckett: The Government's mortgage rescue scheme was officially launched on 16 January, following successful 'fast tracking' by around 80 local authorities in December 2008. The scheme comprises both a shared equity and a Government Mortgage to Rent option, which are dependent on an eligible household's financial circumstances and an assessment of the long-term sustainability of the rescue.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications for assistance under the mortgage rescue scheme have been  (a) received and  (b) approved in each local authority area; and how much has been spent under the scheme in each local authority area.

Margaret Beckett: As part of the monitoring arrangements for the Government mortgage rescue scheme, headline data will be published on a monthly basis on the Department's website starting this month. We will be publishing headline data for January, February and March 2009 on 30 April 2009, as pre-announced on the UK National Statistics publication hub, after which local authority breakdowns can be made available. The date of this publication has been delayed from 21 April 2009 owing to unforeseen issues with data quality and validation.

Regional Planning and Development: South East

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Government Office for the South East to make a final decision on the South East Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will make a final decision on the South East Plan. It is anticipated that publication will be in the spring.
	A statement will be laid on the day of publication.

Smoke Alarms

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's campaign to promote smoke alarm installation.

Sadiq Khan: Provisional figures show that in 2007 there were 193 accidental dwelling fire deaths in England, down 17 per cent. from the 2006 figure of 233 accidental dwelling fire deaths. This is the lowest figure for accidental dwelling fire deaths in England since 1981.
	It has been our policy for some time that smoke alarms have a vital role to play in saving lives as they provide the vital early warning of fire and therefore help people to escape. Since 1987, the Government have conducted high profile national and regional television campaigns promoting smoke alarms which have proved very successful. Ownership has increased from 9 per cent. in 1987 to the current level of 80 per cent. and we are seeking to raise it further as evidence suggests that those without alarms are often in those groups who are most at risk from fire. The Government are committed to running further smoke alarms ownership and maintenance campaigns as part of this years programme.
	Furthermore, in 2004, Communities and Local Government invested £25 million pump priming capital over four years in the Home Fire Risk Check initiative. This funding resulted in just under 2 million Home Fire Safety Checks by fire and rescue services in England, installing over 2.4 million smoke alarms. Research into the impact of the Home Fire Risk Check initiative showed it was responsible for 57 per cent. of the fall in accidental dwelling fire deaths. The research also concluded that the Home Fire Risk Check grant was responsible for 13,670 fewer fires and 888 fewer non-fatal casualties. The value placed on these figures showed a total benefit of £926 million to £ 1,943 million to the economy.

Travelling People: South East

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria the South East England Regional Assembly uses to determine the admissibility of submissions to the Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show People Review.

Iain Wright: The Government encourages members of the public to make their views known on planning issues. However, representations must be made on material planning matters relevant to the issue being considered. It is for the body considering the responses to make the judgment on whether responses are material. The Regional Assembly held the consultation into the partial review of the Regional Spatial Strategy and took decisions on how to treat responses. They have not yet submitted the outcome to the Secretary of State.

Travelling People: South East

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many responses the South East England Regional Assembly received to its consultation on Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show People; how many it returned on the basis that they contained discriminatory views; on what advice that decision was taken; and who gave the Assembly that advice.

Iain Wright: The Government encourage members of the public to make views known in relation to any planning issues. However, representations must be made on material planning matters relevant to the issue being considered.
	In exercising their planning responsibilities, all public bodies must ensure that they fulfil their duties under the Race Relations Act 1976 to actively seek to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote good race relations.
	In this case, the regional assembly, the then regional planning body, was responsible for the consultation into the partial review of the regional spatial strategy in relation to Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show People and it was the assembly that took decisions on how to treat responses.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) off-licences and  (b) on-licences have been convicted for offences related to the sale of alcohol in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: Information showing the number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences relating to the sale of alcohol in England and Wales from 2003-07 (latest available) is in table 1. From data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice, it is not possible to separately identify the number of off-licences from the number of on-licences. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	The penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme was rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales in 2004 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Information showing the number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued relating to the sale of alcohol is shown in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of defendants, by persons and other defendants, found guilty at all courts for offences related to the sale of alcohol( 1) , England and Wales, 2003-07( 2, 3) 
			   Persons  Other defendants( 4)  Total 
			 2003 409 10 419 
			 2004 605 4 609 
			 2005 771 1 772 
			 2006 839 16 855 
			 2007 510 16 526 
			 (1) Includes the following offences and statutes: 14203: Selling intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises (Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 4(1). Licensing Act 1964 Sec 169(1)). 14352: Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18. (Licensing Act 1964 Sec 181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1988 Sec 17). 14353: Wholesaler allowing a person under 18 to sell intoxicating liquor without the specific approval of the wholesaler or an adult acting on his behalf. (Licensing Act 1964 Sec 181 A(2) as added by Licensing Act 1988 Sec 17). 14374: Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk. (Licensing Act 2003 S.141) 14379: Sale of alcohol to person under 18. (Licensing Act 2003 S.146) 14380: Allowing sale of alcohol to person under 18. (Licensing Act 2003 S.147) 14398: Persistently selling alcohol to children (Licensing Act 2003 as added by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006). (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Other offenders include companies and public bodies.  Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit, Office for Criminal Justice Reform. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of persons issued with a penalty notice for disorder relating to the sale of alcohol( 1) , in England and Wales, 2004-07( 2, 3) 
			   Number 
			 2004 113 
			 2005 2,090 
			 2006 3,242 
			 2007 3,664 
			 (1) Includes the following offences: Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk. (Licensing Act 2003 S.141): introduced on 4 April 2005. Sale of alcohol to person under 18. (Licensing Act 2003 S.146): introduced on 1 November 2004. (2) Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk was introduced to the PND scheme on 4 April 2005. (3) Sale of alcohol to person under 18 was introduced to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) pubs,  (b) night clubs,  (c) off-licences and  (d) individuals in each police force area have been prosecuted for selling alcohol to people aged under 18 in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1025W.
	Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	Pubs, nightclubs and off-licences are included within "other defendants" but cannot be separately identified.

Antisocial Behaviour: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dispersal orders have been issued in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: Between January 2004 and 31 March 2006, the police have used the power in section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to disperse unruly groups in over 1,000 designated areas. Figures are not available broken down by year. Figures for 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 by police force area are due to be published shortly.

Asylum: North East

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers in each local authority area in the North East have been supported by the National Asylum Support Service in each quarter of each year since 2005.

Phil Woolas: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) no longer exists, although its functions continue to be exercised within the UK Border Agency.
	Information on the number of asylum seekers that have applied for support in the North East by local authority area over a period is not collated centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	Since the second quarter of 2008, statistics on the numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support at the end of the quarter are published in tables 5 and 6 of the quarterly bulletin "Control of Immigration". Earlier published figures are available in the quarterly bulletin "Asylum Statistics", tables 9 and 10.
	These statistics are broken down by Government Office Region and local authority.
	Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	Further breakdowns by parliamentary constituency are available from the Library of the House.

Crimes of Violence: Firearms

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes involving a gun were committed in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency and  (b) England in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 27 April 2009
	Available information relates to violence against the person crimes recorded by the police in England in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used from 1998-99 up to and including 2007-08.
	Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument, or used as a threat.
	
		
			  Violence against the person crimes involving firearms( 1 ) (excluding air weapons), England, 1998-99 to 2007-08 
			  Recorded crime 
			   Number of offences 
			 1998-99 1,664 
			 1999-2000 2,203 
			 2000-01 2,492 
			 2001-02(2) 3,405 
			 2002-03(3) 4,130 
			 2003-04 4,651 
			 2004-05 5,707 
			 2005-06 5,368 
			 2006-07 4,239 
			 2007-08 4,575 
			 (1) Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person or used as a threat. (2 )Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (3 )The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002, which may have resulted in inflated figures for some crime categories. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable.

Criminal Records: Databases

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to ensure that notices served under section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 are not collated or recorded on a database that allows for an automatic retrieval.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office does not require notices served under section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act to be collated or recorded on a database. The guidance issued by the Home Office on section 27 'Giving Directions to Individuals to Leave a Locality' indicates that each police force should determine how information relating to these notices should be gathered and recorded. The guidance can be found by accessing the following web link:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/directions-to-leave-locality

Departmental Air Travel

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials from her Department of each  (a) grade and  (b) directorate have flown by British Airways on official business in each of the last five years; what the (i) destination and (ii) cost of the ticket was in each case; what her policy is on the use of British Airways by her Department's officials; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Department's accounting system does not hold the information at the requested level of detail. An answer could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the guidance set out in the ministerial code, the civil service management code and departmental staff handbooks.

Departmental Sick Leave

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days sick leave were taken on average by staff  (a) in her Department and  (b) in the Criminal Records Bureau in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office, which comprises headquarters, UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service, and Criminal Records Bureau, lost, on average, 9.29 working days per staff year to sick absence in 2008-09 financial year.
	11.31 average working days per staff year were lost to sick absence in the Criminal Records Bureau during the same period.

Driving Offences: Speed Limits

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written warnings for speeding offences were issued in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) England in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 27 April 2009
	Available information on written warnings for speeding offences in Lancashire police force and England in from 2002 to 2006 (latest available) is provided in the table.
	Information on written warnings given in 2007 is due to be published on 30 April 2008 as a part of the Home Office publication, "Statistics on Police Powers and Procedures 2007-08".
	
		
			  Written warnings for speed limit offences, Lancashire and England and Wales 2002 to 2006 
			  Number of warnings 
			  Police force area  Lancashire  England 
			 2002 0 5,209 
			 2003 1 4,850 
			 2004 1 6,048 
			 2005 0 5,498 
			 2006 0 3,719

Driving Under Influence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1519W, on driving under influence, what factors underlie the period of time elapsed between the collection of statistics on the number of breathalyser tests by month and region and the publication of those data; and by what date she expects the 2008 data to be published.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 24 April 2009
	Until 2006, breath tests data had been collected and published by the Ministry of Justice as a part of the 'Motoring offences and Breath Tests Statistics' publication. The Home Office has taken over this work, and data for 2007 are due to be published on 30 April 2009 as a part of the Home Office National Statistics bulletin "Statistics on Police Powers and Procedures—England and Wales 2007". This bulletin contains a wide-range of statistics, all of which require data to be submitted from police forces. Data then has to be quality assured before publication.
	From 2008 onwards, statistics on breath tests will be reported to the Home office annually (broken down by month) to ease the burden on police forces.
	Previously, they had reported monthly for an annual publication.
	The publication date for 2008 breath tests data has yet to be announced.

Drugs: Misuse

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths and serious injuries following the use of gamma hydroxybutyrate have been recorded in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths and serious injuries following the use of gamma hydroxybutyrate have been recorded in each of the last five years. (270936)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause was drug poisoning and gamma hydroxybutyrate was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, in England and Wales, for 2003 to 2007 (the latest year available). Figures for serious injuries following the use of gamma hydroxybutyrate are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths attributed to drug poisoning( 1)  where gamma hydroxybutyrate was mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales,( 2)  2003 - 07 
			   Deaths 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 4 
			 2006 7 
			 2007 9 
			 (1 )Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where the underlying cause was due to drug poisoning (shown in the box below) and where gamma hydroxybutyrate was mentioned on the death certificate. (2) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  ICD-10  Description 
			 F11-F16, F18-F19 Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) 
			 X40-X44 Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances 
			 X60-X64 Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances 
			 X85 Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances 
			 Y10-Y14 Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent

Entry Clearances

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure that artists visiting the country for cultural events under the new points-based system of immigration have easy and affordable access to biometric data collection points.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 23 April 2009
	When we introduced the requirement for all visa applicants to submit their biometric data we extended the number of collection points through the arrangements provided by our commercial partners. In some cases mobile collection is also possible. We do keep the arrangements under review and recently, for example, opened new visa application centres in Russia.

G20: Greater London

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers assigned to police the protests associated with the G20 summit were injured in the course of their duties.

Vernon Coaker: The Metropolitan police are still collating accurate figures on injuries which will take time given the large numbers of officers and forces involved in the policing operation. I will write to the hon. Member when this information is available.

Hezbollah

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1319W, on Hezbollah, if she will place in the Library a copy of the review of Hezbollah.

Vernon Coaker: Reviews for the purposes of proscription draw on sensitive intelligence material. It is therefore not possible to place a copy of the review of Hezbollah in the Library.

Hillsborough Stadium: Disclosure of Information

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when full public disclosure of all documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster will take place; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are committed to helping those who lost loved ones in the Hillsborough tragedy. A number of national and local agencies hold a great deal of documentation on the Hillsborough disaster. Copies of the documents examined by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith as part of his review of Hillsborough papers were placed in the House Library when the then Home Secretary reported on the review in February 1998. The Home Secretary has been working with colleagues across Government, in the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Attorney-General's Office to put out any information that could shed light on the disaster and its aftermath in the public domain as soon as possible. In doing so, we are working closely with South Yorkshire police.

Immigration Controls

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the  (a) resources required by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to implement the requirements of Tier 4 of the points-based immigration system and  (b) cost to UKBA of administering the requirements of Tier 4 in each of the next three years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 27 April 2009
	While the UK Border Agency continues to work with its supplier, the information requested is, at present, commercially sensitive.

Immigration Controls

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which nominated stakeholders have been selected to participate in the trial of the Sponsorship Management System under Tier 4 of the points-based immigration system; and what criteria were used to select those stakeholders.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The sponsorship management system (SMS) will be available from autumn 2009 for all sponsors to trial the gradual roll-out of issuing confirmations of acceptance for studies (CAS) and the associated reporting duties across migrant application types.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms exist to monitor the work of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Vernon Coaker: The IPCC is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Home Office and its work is monitored by the Department as part of its sponsorship responsibilities. The IPCC is also required to lay its annual report before Parliament and its work is scrutinised by Parliament through the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC).

National Policing Improvement Agency: Recruitment

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 822W, on the National Policing Improvement Agency: vacancies, how many of the vacancies were advertised on the public part of the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway.

Vernon Coaker: 164 vacancies were advertised on the Civil Service Gateway.

National Policing Improvement Agency: Recruitment

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 822W, on the National Policing Improvement Agency: vacancies, what the  (a) job title and  (b) salary range of each of the vacancies was.

Vernon Coaker: It is not possible to recapture the data as at 21 January 2009, which were provided in the answer of 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 822W. It is estimated that there were 344 vacancies around the end of January 2009. The job title and salary range for the 344 vacancies is provided in the table.
	
		
			  Job  t itle  Salary r ange 
			 Business Support Administrator £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Security Officer x 2 £18,671 - £22,149 (London) 
			 Administrator, Design and Development £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Quality Assurance Administration Officer £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 NCALT Immersive Learning Office Administrator £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Training Registration Officer £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Administration Officer NCMP £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Accounts Payable Transactions Officer £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Procurement and Contract Assistant £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Planning Administrator x 2 £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Project Support Admin x two (1 London and one National) £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			  £18,671 - £22,149 (London) 
			 Receptionist x two (one London and one National) £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			  £18,671 - £22,149 (London) 
			 Customer Service Standards Officer £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Centre Support Officer £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Admin Clerk temporary £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 Scanning Clerk £15,026 - £20,685 (national) 
			 PA to Head of Commercial and Procurement £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Policy Assistant £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Ten-Print Identification Officer £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 PA to Chief Technology Unit £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 IT/AV Admin Support £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Administrative Support Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Identification Administrator £22,817 - £32,194 (London 
			 Service Desk Analyst x two (1 London and one National) £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			  £22,817 - £32,194 (London 
			 Assistant Crime Analyst x 6 £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Administrative Support Officer to Regional Team £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 PA to Head of Technology Product Management Unit £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Office Manager £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Assistant Crime Analyst £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 PA to the Head of Examinations and Assessment £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Implementation Support Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Project Support Officer x 2 £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 PA to Service Director £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 QA and Accreditation Administrator x two £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Central Support Team Officer £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Training and Business Support Administrator £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Training Support Officer £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Publishing Co-ordinator £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Admin and Finance Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Marketing Assistant £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 PA to ACC Head of Operations £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Administrative Officer £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Doctrine Coordination Assistant £17,808 - 24,725 (national) 
			 PA to Head of RAI Unit £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Procurement and Contract Assistant £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Health and Safety Co-ordinator £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Financial Accounting Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Transport Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Senior Transactions Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 HR Recruitment Administrator x 3 £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Centre Support Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Health and Safety Officer £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Payable Clerk £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Filing Clerk x two £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 HR Administrator £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 PA to the Chairman and three Directors £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 First Line Manager, Examinations and Assessment x five £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Trainee Psychologist, Examinations and Assessment x three £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Reprographics Support Assistant £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Assistant £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 SAP Programme Team Administrator £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Customer Support Assistant - Part time £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Customer Support Assistant - Full time £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Estates Programme Officer Administrator £17,808 - £24,725 (national) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Assistant - Police National Database £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Learning Programmes Evaluator £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Project Support Officer £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 IDENT1 Monitoring Specialist £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Field Support Manager £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Programme Information Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Forensic Policy Support Officer x 2 £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Programme Support Specialist £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 National Tactical Support Team Member £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Change Analyst £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Technical System Administrator x 2 £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 PentiP Implementation Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Training Design Officer x 2 £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Project Support Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Policy Advisor x 4 £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Policy Advisor £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Training Business Support Manager £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Training and Development Officer x two £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 International Assistant Operations £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Quality Assurance and Evaluation Officer £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Training Design Officer x 7 £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Communications Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Online Editor/Publisher £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Online Editor/Publisher Supervisor £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Analyst £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Marketing and Communications Officer x two £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Health and Safety - Bramshill £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 SAP Business Support Analyst £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Asst Human Resources Business Partner £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 HR Recruitment coordinator x two £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Customer Service Standards Manager £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Organisation Development Consultant £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Estates and Service Delivery Health and Safety Co-ordinator £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 SAP Analyst £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Diversity and Human Rights Officer £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Legal Researcher £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Performance and Compliance Manager, Examinations and Assessment x 2 £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Psychologist, Examinations and Assessment x four £21,949 - £30,906 (national) 
			 Senior Legal Researcher £21,949 - £30,906 (national) or Inspector 
			 PA to Senior Business Advisor £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 PA to Chief Officer and Service Director £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Assistant to Head of HR £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 PA to Chief Technology Unit £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Data Migration Analyst x 4 £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Administrative Support Officer £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Finance Administrator £22,817 - £32,194 (London) 
			 Forensic21 Administrator £22,817 - £32,194(London) 
			 Events Assistant £22,817 - £32,194(London) 
			 Business Support Officer x 2 £22,817 - £32,914 (London) 
			 DNA Policy Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Police Liaison Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Business Advisor £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Systems Developer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Senior Analyst Programmer x three £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Training and Business Support Officer £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Facilities Manager £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Finance Manager - IMPACT x 2 £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 SAP Training and Contract Support £25,104 - £38,117 (London) 
			 Business Advisor £25,104 - £38,117 (London) or Inspector 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - category management - National or London base £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			  £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Manager - Bus. Development - e business- National or London base £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			  £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - Bus. Development - National or London base £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			  £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - Major Projects x six - National or London base £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			  £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - Security and Counter Terrorism £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - PND £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer- Bus development £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - (SRM) £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Officer - Estates and Facilities x two £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 International Forensic Officer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Identification Specialist (Fingerprint Expert) x 2 £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Technical Liaison Officer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Business Change Officer - Forensic21x 7 £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 3rd Line Citrix Engineer £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 CAS Forensic Specialist £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Senior Capacity Planning Specialist Manager £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 TPMU Product Accreditation Manager £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Senior Crime Analyst £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Preventing Violent Extremism Trainers £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Higher Psychologist £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Lead Developer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Covert Learning Programme Imaging Specialist £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 NCALT Project Manager £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Covert Training Manager £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Senior Press Officer x 2 £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Implementer x two £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Senior Analyst x 2 £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Implementer - MoPI £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Field Support Officers x 3 £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Research Officer x 4 £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Community Safety Partnership and Engagement Advisor £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Business Development Manager £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Private Secretary to Director £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Project Manager, Examinations and Assessment £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Higher Psychologist, Examinations and Assessment x 4 £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Administrator, Examinations and Assessment x 11 £27,300 - £38,633 (national) 
			 Regional Co-ordinator for the Special Constabulary x 8 £27,300 - £38,633 (national)/Chief Inspector 
			 Neighbourhood policing Delivery Manager £32,230 - £46,359 (London)Chief Inspector 
			 Manager of Intelligence Skills £27,300 - £38,633 (national)/Detective Chief Inspector 
			 Senior Analyst £32,230 - £46,359 (London)/Inspector 
			 Research and Development Officer £27,300 - £38,633 (national)/Inspector 
			 Office Manager £27,300 - £38,633 (national)/Sergeant 
			 Covert Training Manager £27,300 - £38,633 (national)/Sergeant 
			 Senior Business Analyst £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Oracle Development DBA £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Technical Architect £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Instructional Designer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 E-learning Developer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 E-learning Producer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 E-Learning Instructional Designer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Project Manager £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Communications Security and Interoperability Engineer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Lead Systems Developer £32,230 - £46,359 (London) 
			 Deputy to Head of Police Science and Forensics £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Manager - Category Manager x three £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Manager - Operations £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Procurement and Commercial Manager Bus development x two £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Senior Forensic Pathology Officer £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 National Accreditors x 2 £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Policy and Compliance Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 IT Systems Architect £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Business Analyst £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Forensic Pathology Development Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 PentiP Implementation Team Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Product Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 National Strategy for Police Information Systems Custody and Case Programme Business Liaison Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Communications Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Strategic and Business Improvement Analyst x two £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Senior Research Officer £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Communications Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Internal Communications Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Senior Research Officer x two £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Business Development Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Head of Security and Business Continuity £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 SAP Functional Lead £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 SAP Technical Architect £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 SAP Functional Lead (Finance) £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 National PNC Business Development Partner £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Crime Scene Investigator £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Network Specialist £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Programme Office Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 SAP Training and Communications Manager £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Fingerprint Instructor Secondment £43,440 - £61,812 (London) 
			 Principal Analyst £43,440 - £61,812 (London)/Superintendent 
			 Strategic Co-ordinator £43,440 - £61,812 (London)/Superintendent 
			 Chief of Staff - ICTS £43,440 - £61,812 (London)/Superintendent 
			 Principal Research Officer - Knowledge Management £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 TDA Lead £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Principal Research Officer Risk £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Senior Procurement Manager ( PND) £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Senior Procurement Manager - Supplier Relationship - (SRM) £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 National Accreditation Manager £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Software Engineering and Business Analysis Manager £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Programme Manager £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Senior Project Manager NBC £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Principal Research Officer - Efficiency/Productivity £56,216 - £79,552 (London) 
			 Information Risk Manager £56,216 - £79,552 (London) (London) 
			 Head of Leadership Programmes £60,060 - £82,416/Deputy Chief Constable 
			 Programme Director, ISIS Programme £76,440 - £88,597 (London) 
			 Chief Technology Officers £76,440 - £88,597 (London) 
			 Head of Finance £76,440 - £88,597 (London) 
			 Head of Operations, PPP Assistant Chief Constable 
			 Police Liaison Officer Chief Inspector 
			 International Policing Adviser Chief Inspector 
			 Field Officer x 3 Chief Inspector 
			 Field Officer - CF and NPP Chief Inspector 
			 Deputy Head of Unit Chief Superintendent 
			 PC Operational Planning Constable 
			 Senior Policing Advisor to the CIO Deputy Chief Constable 
			 High Tech Crime Training Course Manager x two Detective Constable 
			 Regional Co-ordinator (West Midlands) Detective Inspector 
			 Business Advisor x 2 Detective Sergeant 
			 Crime Investigation Support Officer Detective Sergeant 
			 Field Support Officers x 2 Inspector 
			 Staff Officer to Independent Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate Inspector 
			 Police Expert—Intelligence Inspector 
			 PC/Sgt Public Order x two Sergeant 
			 Operations Advisor Sergeant 
			 Airwave User Assurance Co-ordinator Superintendent 
			 Firearms Gold Command Training Superintendent 
			 Impact Stakeholder Engagement and Events Manager Superintendent

National Security

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions she and her predecessors have authorised warrants under section 7 of the Intelligence and Security Act 1994 since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The issuing of authorisations under section 7 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 is scrutinized by the Intelligence Services Commissioner. In the most recent report of the Intelligence Services Commissioner 2007 (HC 948) he gave an account of his scrutiny function and noted that:
	"Consistent with the practice since annual reporting by the respective statutory Commissioners began, I do not propose to disclose publicly the numbers of warrants or authorisations issued to the security and intelligence services. That is because it would assist those unfriendly to the UK were they able to know the extent of the work of the Security Service, SIS and GCHQ in fulfilling their functions. The figures are, however, of interest and have been included in the confidential annex to the report."

Police Stations: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police stations have  (a) closed and  (b) opened in each of the last five years in each police force area in Wales; which police stations in each such area have been sold in the last 10 years; to which purchasers each such station was sold; for what price each such station was sold; and which operational police stations in each such area are under consideration for closure.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for each Welsh chief officer and police authority, who are responsible for assessing local needs.

Police: Bureaucracy

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimates she has made of the average length of time per day a police officer spends on patrol in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) Northamptonshire constabulary.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 21 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 604-05W.
	Police officer time spent on the beat for Northamptonshire is a matter for the chief constable of that force. The latest figure available was provided by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. McNulty) on 29 September 2008,  Official Report, columns 2352-53W.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum disciplinary sanction is which the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) may impose on a police officer; on how many occasions since its creation the IPCC has imposed the maximum sanction on a police officer; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The IPCC is not responsible for imposing disciplinary sanctions on police forces or individuals. The evidence, findings and recommendations of IPCC investigations are fed in to the police performance and conduct systems as and when appropriate.

Police: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage yearly increases in the Band D police precept on council tax after capping were in each police authority area in England and Wales in each year from 1997-98 to date.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Precept (Band D) annual percentage increases by police authority 1997-98 to 2009-10 
			  Percentage 
			  Police authority  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 1)  2009-10( 2) 
			 Avon and Somerset 13.1 5.4 10.5 11.5 7.5 14.8 33.9 12.0 5.0 4.9 6.8 4.9 4.5 
			 Bedfordshire 14.2 6.3 9.9 9.2 4.9 12.0 18.7 14.7 4.5 5.0 5.0 9.6 3.9 
			 Cambridgeshire 13.4 -5.5 8.0 19.9 8.9 39.0 19.8 14.1 4.8 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 
			 Cheshire 13.7 5.3 4.5 8.5 5.9 13.7 19.6 10.9 5.0 5.7 6.9 17.0 3.6 
			 Cleveland 19.3 -11.7 29.2 4.8 6.0 38.3 25.1 13.8 5.0 4.9 4.9 10.0 4.9 
			 Cumbria 14.1 24.3 8.2 7.6 7.6 10.9 30.1 15.0 4.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 
			 Derbyshire 14.0 11.7 14.9 8.0 6.0 22.0 21.5 9.9 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.6 8.7 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8.2 -3.0 10.8 10.0 5.0 19.4 39.9 9.8 5.5 4.9 4.9 7.9 4.9 
			 Dorset 11.6 11.0 9.2 9.5 9.3 12.2 19.2 9.7 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.0 
			 Durham 16.0 -6.9 3.7 4.5 7.2 14.2 23.5 15.0 4.9 5.0 34.6 5.0 3.5 
			 Essex 12.7 15.1 4.5 4.4 4.5 9.4 19.7 6.8 5.5 5.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 
			 Gloucestershire 13.7 12.8 19.3 13.2 5.2 14.6 51.7 9.9 3.9 4.9 5.0 5.0 2.9 
			 Hampshire 12.5 -3.1 7.5 2.2 7.2 27.3 29.5 11.4 5.0 5.0 5.0 8.1 4.8 
			 Hertfordshire 12.0 14.2 8.0 7.0 6.5 11.9 21.3 14.5 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.5 
			 Humberside 14.1 0.0 4.5 10.0 42.2 11.2 18.5 15.0 4.4 5.0 5.0 4.5 3.9 
			 Kent 12.2 -6.2 8.4 6.2 8.1 22.2 28.9 11.3 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 
			 Lancashire 15.6 0.3 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.8 18.6 15.0 7.0 5.0 11.4 7.9 4.5 
			 Leicestershire 16.1 17.1 4.2 6.3 11.4 26.1 10.0 14.6 4.9 5.0 5.0 15.4 3.0 
			 Lincolnshire 3.0 14.3 3.9 5.5 4.5 5.0 10.1 7.5 6.4 5.0 5.0 26.0 5.0 
			 Norfolk 12.4 6.0 20.0 12.0 16.0 20.0 21.5 13.7 4.9 5.9 6.9 8.3 3.9 
			 Northamptonshire 10.3 -1.8 9.8 4.7 4.2 26.8 23.6 14.9 3.3 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.5 
			 North Yorkshire 10.5 -2.5 7.7 9.3 9.7 41.5 76.1 9.9 2.6 2.3 3.0 4.3 3.0 
			 Nottinghamshire 8.2 9.1 13.3 5.9 7.7 21.4 28.3 9.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 
			 Staffordshire 14.0 32.3 8.9 5.8 13.1 7.0 25.3 9.4 4.9 5.0 5.0 3.8 3.9 
			 Suffolk 14.2 1.9 7.2 8.8 9.9 22.3 33.2 9.5 4.4 4.7 5.0 9.0 4.3 
			 Surrey 3.8 48.0 13.9 5.5 4.6 16.1 40.1 8.9 4.9 5.8 4.9 9.7 4.9 
			 Sussex 12.3 -1.4 4.4 4.4 6.5 18.1 39.9 7.6 4.9 5.0 6.0 4.9 4.7 
			 Thames Valley 12.3 -3.8 11.4 6.7 6.9 14.0 44.6 13.4 4.8 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.5 
			 Warwickshire 11.1 18.9 14.6 9.0 9.8 19.5 15.2 7.9 4.7 4.9 5.0 12.9 4.0 
			 West Mercia 13.0 5.4 10.0 25.5 6.0 33.1 14.6 14.9 4.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 
			 Wiltshire 12.7 13.7 9.9 9.9 9.8 9.9 19.8 10.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.3 5.0 
			 Total shires 12.1 6.1 9.4 4.6 12.2 18.0 28.2 11.4 4.8 5.0 5.7 6.9 4.6 
			   
			 Greater Manchester 17.6 4.0 7.0 4.2 3.1 6.5 33.1 7.5 7.0 5.0 5.0 7.5 7.5 
			 Merseyside 15.3 7.3 7.9 5.0 5.0 11.0 7.2 8.5 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.0 
			 Northumbria 14.6 -9.6 4.5 4.5 6.9 4.5 9.7 4.9 4.6 2.5 4.0 4.7 3.9 
			 South Yorkshire 15.8 1.9 4.5 4.5 6.0 18.0 27.3 9.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.5 3.2 
			 West Midlands 15.7 -7.9 4.5 7.0 4.5 8.2 15.0 12.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 3.4 3.5 
			 West Yorkshire 18.2 -1.4 4.5 7.2 3.6 24.8 17.0 14.9 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.5 3.0 
			 Total mets 16.6 -1.0 5.6 5.5 4.5 11.9 18.9 10.0 5.3 4.7 4.8 5.2 4.6 
			   
			 Total England (exc London) 13.2 4.3 8.5 4.8 9.2 16.7 26.4 11.2 4.9 4.9 5.6 6.6 4.6 
			   
			 Metropolitan 13.0 20.9 7.9 10.2 30.7 9.9 21.9 15.7 6.6 7.4 6.1 1.5 -1.2 
			   
			 Total England (inc London) 18.0 7.7 8.3 5.3 15.0 15.1 25.3 12.3 5.3 5.5 5.7 5.3 3.2 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 4.0 23.0 22.5 17.0 6.4 7.9 26.5 14.9 0.3 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 
			 Gwent 5.0 10.7 9.9 25.5 12.1 13.3 25.2 16.8 4.3 5.0 5.0 4.5 4.5 
			 North Wales 5.0 20.7 13.3 18.3 5.4 16.7 31.5 19.4 4.9 5.0 6.8 4.5 5.0 
			 South Wales 6.2 14.3 16.2 23.0 6.4 5.0 15.2 11.8 4.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 
			 Total Wales 5.2 16.6 15.6 21.1 7.1 9.7 23.1 15.3 3.7 5.0 5.5 4.8 4.9 
			 Total England and Wales 12.7 8.1 8.7 6.2 14.5 14.7 25.2 12.4 5.2 5.5 5.7 5.3 3.3 
			 (1) In 2008-09, seven police authorities were proposed with capping action: Lincolnshire—in year designated (capped). Required to reduce budget from £116.6 million to £100.6 million. Bedfordshire—Nominated. Will be measured against a notional budget of £95.8 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Norfolk—Nominated. Will be measured against a notional budget of £137.9 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Surrey—Nominated. Will be measured against a notional budget of £189.6 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Cheshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire—Nominated with future designation. Budget increases restricted at a level equivalent to a maximum council tax increase of 3 per cent. in 2009-10 and 2010-11 (2) In 2009-10, two police authorities are currently being considered for capping action, Derbyshire and Surrey.  Sources: 1. English Police Authorities—DCLG 2. Welsh Police Authorities—WAG

Police: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Band D council tax police precepts charged after capping were by each police authority in England and Wales in each year since 1997-98.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Precept (Band D) increases by police authority 1997-98 to 2009-10 
			  £ 
			  Police authority  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 1)  2009-10( 2) 
			 Avon and Somerset 52.04 54.86 6062 67.59 72.66 83.40 111.64 125.09 131.34 137.84 147.17 154.32 161.26 
			 Bedfordshire 52.51 55.84 61.36 66.98 70.26 78.69 93.44 10717 111.98 117.55 123.43 135.28 140.56 
			 Cambridgeshire 51.03 48.24 52.11 62.46 68.04 94.59 113.31 129.33 135.54 142.29 149.40 156.87 164.70 
			 Cheshire 51.16 53.86 56.28 61.06 64.66 73.54 88.10 97.71 102.60 108.49 116.03 135.75 140.70 
			 Cleveland 54.87 48.43 62.55 65.58 69.51 96.13 120.22 136.84 143.68 150.72 158.10 173.87 182.47 
			 Cumbria 58.20 72.35 78.27 84.23 90.60 100.48 130.71 150.28 155.43 163.08 171.09 179.46 188.25 
			 Derbyshire 51.31 57.30 65.85 71.12 75.38 91.96 111.77 122.88 129.02 135.15 141.91 148.44 161.32 
			 Devon and Cornwall 49.79 48.30 53.52 58.87 61.81 73.80 103.27 113.39 119.62 125.53 131.73 142.19 149.22 
			 Dorset 63.59 70.61 77.13 84.42 92.25 103.50 123.39 135.36 142.11 149.13 156.51 164.25 172.44 
			 Durham 52.20 48.60 50.40 52.65 56.43 64.44 79.56 91.53 96.03 100.80 135.72 142.47 147.51 
			 Essex 54.09 62.28 65.07 67.95 71.01 77.67 92.97 99.27 104.76 110.97 116.46 122.22 128.25 
			 Gloucestershire 51.17 57.74 68.90 77.98 82.05 94.01 142.59 156.71 162.90 170.96 179.49 188.45 193.99 
			 Hampshire 51.75 50.13 53.91 55.08 59.04 75.15 97.29 108.36 113.76 119.43 125.37 135.54 142.11 
			 Hertfordshire 51.51 58.83 63.54 67.99 72.39 81.01 98.28 112.53 118.09 123.98 130.17 136.67 142.82 
			 Humberside 52.47 52.47 54.81 60.30 85.77 95.40 113.04 129.96 135.72 142.47 149.58 156.31 162.41 
			 Kent 51.59 48.41 52.48 55.73 60.26 73.64 94.95 105.66 110.88 116.37 122.18 128.25 134.65 
			 Lancashire 53.25 53.41 57.69 62.60 67.89 73.86 87.57 100.70 107.72 113.09 125.95 135.96 142.08 
			 Leicestershire 52.26 61.21 63.79 67.80 75.52 95.21 104.77 120.11 126.04 132.33 138.96 160.40 165.21 
			 Lincolnshire 69.03 78.93 81.99 86.49 90.36 94.86 104.40 112.23 119.43 125.37 131.58 165.79 174.06 
			 Norfolk 50.58 53.64 64.35 72.09 83.61 100.35 121.95 138.69 145.53 154.17 164.88 178.56 185.58 
			 Northamptonshire 70.56 69.29 76.08 79.65 83.00 105.25 130.09 149.43 154.41 162.11 170.21 178.62 186.66 
			 North Yorkshire 49.72 48.46 52.20 57.04 62.59 88.59 156.00 171.50 176.00 180.00 185.40 193.37 199.17 
			 Nottinghamshire 49.78 54.32 61.55 65.17 70.17 85.17 109.30 120.12 126.01 132.24 138.78 145.62 152.82 
			 Staffordshire 54.74 72.42 78.86 83.43 94.37 100.93 126.50 138.44 145.28 152.53 160.15 166.16 172.71 
			 Suffolk 51.39 52.38 56.16 61.11 67.14 82.08 109.35 119.70 125.01 130.86 137.34 149.67 156.06 
			 Surrey 44.64 66.06 75.24 79.41 83.08 96.44 135.09 147.06 154.26 163.26 171.27 187.92 197.10 
			 Sussex 51.66 50.94 53.19 55.53 59.13 69.84 97.74 105.12 110.25 115.74 122.67 128.70 134.73 
			 Thames Valley 52.79 50.76 56.53 60.34 64.49 73.49 106.24 120.51 126.28 132.58 139.19 144.76 151.27 
			 Warwickshire 52.24 62.09 71.18 77.57 85.17 101.78 117.30 126.55 132.52 138.95 145.90 164.68 171.22 
			 West Mercia 50.87 53.64 59.00 74.06 78.50 104.50 119.80 137.69 143.17 150.24 157.66 165.45 173.62 
			 Wiltshire 55.22 62.77 68.98 75.84 83.26 91.54 109.68 120.63 126.63 132.84 139.35 145.34 152.59 
			 Total Shires 52.79 56.00 61.24 64.03 71.85 84.78 108.71 121.12 126.97 133.31 140.94 150.66 157.54 
			   
			 Greater Manchester 54.10 56.28 60.22 62.72 64.66 68.86 91.65 98.52 105.41 110.67 116.19 124.90 134.26 
			 Merseyside 66.87 71.78 77.44 81.31 85.37 94.76 101.54 110.17 115.68 121.46 127.53 133.91 140.61 
			 Northumbria 52.73 47.67 49.82 52.06 55.65 58.15 63.80 66.93 70.03 71.78 74.62 78.27 81.32 
			 South Yorkshire 53.29 54.28 56.72 59.26 62.79 74.09 94.30 102.79 107.88 113.27 118.92 124.56 128.60 
			 West Midlands 53.20 48.99 51.19 54.77 57.21 61.88 71.16 80.08 83.68 87.55 91.47 94.67 97.98 
			 West Yorkshire 53.17 52.41 54.76 58.73 60.82 75.92 88.81 102.06 107.05 112.40 118.02 123.62 127.32 
			 Total Mets 55.05 54.52 57.59 60.76 63.50 71.06 84.50 92.98 97.94 102.56 107.48 113.06 118.29 
			   
			 Total England (exc. London) 53.34 55.65 60.37 63.28 69.90 81.57 103.07 114.60 120.25 126.20 133.22 141.99 148.50 
			   
			 Metropolitan 63.27 76.48 82.51 90.95 118.85 130.59 159.13 184.08 196.28 210.82 223.60 227.02 224.34 
			   
			 Total England (inc. London) 55.09 59.32 64.26 67.68 77.80 89.52 112.16 125.91 132.62 139.97 147.90 155.81 160.85 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 48.42 59.58 72.99 85.41 90.90 98.10 124.11 142.65 143.10 150.21 157.68 165.51 173.70 
			 Gwent 49.10 54.36 59.74 74.97 84.03 95.17 119.11 139.13 145.07 152.32 159.94 167.14 174.66 
			 North Wales 48.52 58.54 66.33 78.49 82.72 96.53 126.94 151.57 158.94 166.89 178.16 186.18 195.48 
			 South Wales 49.22 56.25 65.36 80.42 85.57 89.85 103.51 115.71 120.40 126.42 132.74 139.38 146.35 
			 Total Wales 48.89 57.03 65.91 79.84 85.54 93.87 115.60 133.34 138.22 145.07 153.03 160.32 168.17 
			   
			 Total England and Wales 54.74 59.19 64.36 68.35 78.24 89.77 112.36 126.33 132.95 140.28 148.21 156.08 161.28 
			 (1) In 2008-09 seven police authorities were proposed with capping action: Lincolnshire—in year designated (capped). Required to reduce budget from £116 6 million to £100.6 million. Bedfordshire—Nominated. Will be measured against a notional budget of £95.8 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Norfolk—Nominated. Will be measured against a notional budget of £137.9 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Surrey—Nominated. Will be measured against a notional budget of £189.6 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Cheshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire—Nominated with future designation. Budget increases restricted at a level equivalent to a maximum council tax increase of 3 per cent. in 2009-10 and 2010-11. (2) In 2009-10, two police authorities are currently being considered for capping action, Derbyshire and Surrey.  Source: English Police Authorities—DCLG Welsh Police Authorities—WAG

Police: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police civilian support staff there were in  (a) Tamworth constituency and  (b) Staffordshire (i) in 1997 and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available; how many police community support officers there are in each area; and what the policing budget was in each such area in (1) 1997 and (2) 2007 in real terms.

Vernon Coaker: There were 763 police staff in Staffordshire in 1997 and 1,309 such staff in 2008. Police staff figures exclude traffic wardens, designated officers and PCSOs. PCSOs were first introduced in statute in 2002. In 2008, there were 209 PCSOs in Staffordshire. All figures are based on full-time equivalent strength and are correct as at 31 March in the given years. Police personnel statistics are not collected by parliamentary constituency.
	The Government allocate funding to police authorities. The allocation of resources to Tamworth is a matter for the chief constable and Staffordshire police authority. We do not hold centrally information on resources allocated to the Tamworth parliamentary constituency.
	Staffordshire police authority has increased its budget from £113 million in 1997-98, a real terms increase of 0.6 per cent. over 1996-97, to £170.9 million in 2007-08, a real terms increase of 1.4 per cent. over 2006-07.

Police: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of standards of policing in the West Midlands.

Vernon Coaker: Following the publication of the Policing Green Paper (From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together) in July 2008, the Home Office will no longer make graded assessments of policing performance. Instead, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) will take the lead in making any qualitative assessment of forces' performance.
	The Home Office last published graded performance assessments of all police forces in 2006-07. For 2007-08, we only published performance data without any graded assessment. The performance data for the West Midlands in 2007-08 can be found at:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performanceand measurement/performanceassessment/assessments-2007-2008/west-midlands
	In addition, West Midlands police provide local crime information and crime maps for the public, available at:
	www.myneighbourhood.info

Salvia Divinorum

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the legal status of salvia divinorum.

Alan Campbell: At the Home Secretary's request, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is reviewing the availability and harms of psychoactive legal alternatives to illegal drugs, so called 'legal highs', with a particular focus on protecting young people. I fully anticipate that this work will include salvia divinorum.
	The Government's position on their control will be informed by Advisory Council's advice.

Surveillance: Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether local authorities will be included in the list of public authorities which will have access to retained communications data under the provisions of EU Directive 2006/24/EC.

Vernon Coaker: The Government launched a three month public consultation inviting views on this and other matters on 17 April. Copies of the consultation paper "Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000: Consolidating Orders and Codes of Practice" have been placed in the House Library.

Terrorism: Crime Prevention

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution  (a) the Department for Energy and Climate Change and  (b) the Office for Civil Nuclear Security made to her Department's report, The United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering International Terrorism; and to which overseas offices and institutions representing British interests the report has been distributed.

Vernon Coaker: While there was no specific input made by the Department for Energy and Climate Change or the Office for Civil Nuclear Security into the United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering International Terrorism (Contest), they have both been fully engaged in discussions in support of civil nuclear security in the UK.
	Overseas, all our representative posts and institutions have access to Contest, as it is a published document and is freely available on the internet. Over 130 posts and institutions were specifically informed of the launch of the Contest strategy and were invited to brief their hosts and report back on their reactions.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Council: Contracts

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2009,  Official Report, column 778W, on British Council: finance, whether any of the projects funded under the Reconnect programme are being delivered by subcontractors.

Caroline Flint: None of the projects under the British Council Reconnect programme (funded under the additional £6 million total over the triennium 2008-09 to 2010-11) has been delivered by subcontractors in 2008-09. The British Council did use some external facilitation and research support for its Active Citizens programme in 2008-09 but does not have any present plans to engage subcontractors this year (2009-10).

China: Human Rights

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were raised at the recent meeting which took place in the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue process; and what the position was of the Chinese delegation on each of those matters.

Bill Rammell: The seventeenth round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue was held in London on 12-13 January 2009. This comprised one day of talks and visits to a psychiatric detention facility and disability centre run by the Leonard Cheshire Foundation. The delegation also met a group of MPs from the China All-Party Parliamentary Group.
	The formal talks were held with representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, United Front Works Department, Supreme People's Court, Ministry of Public Security, State Council Information Office, and the China Disabled Persons' Federation. We discussed recent human rights developments in China, the drafting of the first Chinese human rights action plan, the ratification of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Tibet, co-operation with international human rights mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review, UN Special Rapporteurs, the Universal Convention Against Torture Committee and the UN Human Rights Council, the use of the death penalty, Rule of Law issues including administrative detention, Xinjiang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea border-crossers, and the freedoms of religion, expression and association. Detailed discussions were held on the role of the prosecutor, and a separate workshop, which included representatives of British non-governmental organisations, covered disability rights and mental health issues. We also raised more than 50 individual cases of concern. The following day the Chinese delegation visited a secure mental health unit and disability centre in London.
	Given the nature of the discussions, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on the Chinese position on each issue. We maintain close official-level contact with parliamentarians and key non-governmental associations involved in human rights in China and discuss our dialogue with them.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many special advisers were employed in his Department at each pay band on 30 November 2008; and what his Department's total expenditure on special advisers was in 2007-08.

Gillian Merron: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers. Information for 2007-08 was published by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 99-102WS.

European Union: Civil Servants

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK-based staff of the EU offices of the devolved Administrations are registered with a Belgian mutual health insurance provider.

Gillian Merron: All 18 UK-based officers, accredited to the devolved Administrations as diplomats, are registered to the Belgian Partena Mutuelle.

European Union: Civil Servants

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UK-based staff of the EU offices of the devolved Administrations are responsible to the UK Permanent Representative to the EU for their personal conduct, listed by  (a) grade and  (b) Administration represented.

Gillian Merron: The number of UK-based staff, of the EU offices of the devolved Administrations, responsible to the UK Permanent Representative to the EU for their personal conduct, by grade and Administration, are:
	
		
			  Scottish Executive Office 
			   Staff 
			 SCS 1 
			 Grade 6 2 
			 Grade 7 1 
			 HEO 2 
			 Total 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Northern Ireland Executive Office 
			   Staff 
			 SCS 1 
			 Grade 7 2 
			 HEO 1 
			 Total 4 
		
	
	
		
			  Welsh Assembly Government Office 
			   Staff 
			 SCS 1 
			 Grade 7 4 
			 HEO 2 
			 EO 1 
			 Total 8 
			  Note: Grades are listed against their Cabinet Office equivalent.

Flags

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) Union flags and  (b) flags of other nations in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The total identifiable expenditure by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in each of the last five years is as follows:
	Flags purchased for internal use at conferences, official events, etc.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2004 2,876 
			 2005 7,140 
			 2006 2,559 
			 2007 2,088 
			 2008 9,099 
		
	
	A breakdown of this expenditure between Union flags and flags of other nations is not held centrally and providing this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	In addition to this, in 2008 £1,694.54 was spent on Union flags and £995 was spent on other nations' flags for external use at FCO buildings. Before 2008 a contractor was used to provide a flag raising service. This included supplying flags as required.

Gaza: Smuggling

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on steps taken by the Government of Egypt to reduce trafficking of weapons and people into Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are extremely concerned with the smuggling of arms and people into Gaza. We are currently working with the Government of Egypt and our international partners on ways to help prevent smuggling.

Government Departments: Wines

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the estimated value of alcoholic beverages in the Government wine cellar is; and how many bottles of  (a) wine,  (b) beer,  (c) spirits and  (d) other alcoholic beverages are held in the Government Wine Cellar.

Gillian Merron: The most recent available valuation of the Government hospitality wine cellar places the current value of the stock at approximately £792,000.
	The cellar contains approximately 39,500 bottles, of which fewer than 500 are spirits or liqueurs. Small quantities of beer are bought on an ad hoc basis; it does not form part of the cellar stock.

Immigration Officers

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many migration officers his Department has in place; in which countries they are posted; and what the estimated  (a) numbers and  (b) locations of such officers for 2009-10 have.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not employ any migration officers. Such officers are employed by the UK Borders Agency, which is the responsibility of the Home Office.

India: Foreign Relations

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to foster Indo-British relations.

Bill Rammell: The UK already enjoys a close and constructive relationship with India. We have extensive contacts with the Indian Government and civil society on a wide range of diplomatic, political, security, economic, trade, development, scientific and cultural issues. We have an extensive network of posts in India staffed from several departments across Whitehall who work to promote UK interests in India. Government Ministers also have regular discussions with their Indian counterparts about current bilateral, regional and global issues. The UK is committed to improving relations with India even further in 2009 and beyond.

Iran: Drugs

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what counter-narcotics assistance the UK has provided to Iran in each financial year since 2000; what assistance is planned in 2009-10; and if he will provide a breakdown of the expenditure by category of  (a) projects supported and  (b) costs.

David Miliband: Between the financial years 2000-01 and 2008-09 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has spent approximately £3,025,000 on counter-narcotics assistance in and with Iran.
	Our funding has contributed to a mix of supply and demand reduction projects such as:
	Training drug enforcement agencies on border management and intelligence sharing.
	Supply of mobile drugs detection units for anti-narcotics police.
	Donation of IT equipment and training for intelligence analysis.
	Training and funds to Iranian NGOs involved in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts.
	Most of the funding has been channelled through the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for capacity building on Iran's eastern border and improving investigative capability. Some equipment has been provided through UNODC and bilaterally.
	No specific assistance is currently agreed for 2009-10 but we are looking for ways to continue our work with Iran on counter narcotics.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions there were between the Government and  (a) the Israeli Government,  (b) President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and  (c) representatives of Hamas on the situation in Gaza between 28 December 2008 and 5 January 2009.

Bill Rammell: We have been in regular contact with both the Government of Israel and Palestinian Authority, including during this period the Prime Minister speaking to the Israeli Prime Minister and Palestinian President.
	There was no contact with Hamas. We do not believe it is productive to talk to Hamas until it makes significant movement towards the Quartet principles of rejecting violence, accepting Israel's right to exist and recognising previous agreements.
	The Arab League has mandated Egypt to communicate with Hamas. We are in regular contact with both the Arab League and Egypt. Turkey, Syria, Qatar and others are also speaking to Hamas.

Palestinians: Human Rights

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the report of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories concerning the Israeli attack on Gaza from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009; if the Government will review their obligations under the Geneva Conventions and other relevant aspects of international law as a consequence; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are extremely concerned with the current situation in Occupied Palestinian Territories and throughout the conflict in Gaza called for an immediate ceasefire.
	We have called for allegations of abuse to be thoroughly investigated. The report of the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur is unbalanced and contributes little. We are awaiting the results of several ongoing investigations into alleged human rights violations during the Gaza conflict and will consider very carefully the results of these investigations once they are available.
	We continue to press the Israeli Government to abide by all their international commitments, including their obligations under the fourth Geneva convention which makes clear that an occupying power must co-operate in allowing allow free movement of people, humanitarian supplies and commercial goods.

Rashid Rauf

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Office was informed of the suspected death of Mr Rashid Rauf from a US air strike in the village of Ali Khel on 21 November 2008.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the Foreign Secretary's office, first learned of the suspected death of Mr. Rauf from initial media reports coming out of Pakistan.

Rashid Rauf

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received confirmation of the death of Mr Rashid Rauf in the US air strike on the village of Ali Khel on 22 November 2008.

Bill Rammell: We do not have confirmation of the death of Rashid Rauf. Following a request from his family, we have requested official confirmation from the Government of Pakistan.

Russia: BBC External Services

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate the BBC World Service has made of the number of people in the Russian Federation with internet access who  (a) use the BBC Russian.com website and  (b) are likely to use the website in each of the next five years.

Caroline Flint: The latest available figures are from January 2009, and estimate that the number of unique users of BBC Russian.com in the Russian Federation was on average 247,000 per week. However, we would therefore expect this number to increase.
	Research shows that the number of internet users in Russia continues to grow, and that by the end of 2008 Russia had overtaken the UK as the second largest internet market in Europe. The BBC World Service regularly reviews the performance of all its websites, but predictive performance estimates of websites in individual countries are not available in this fast-changing environment.

Russia: BBC External Services

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next review of the activities of the BBC Russia Service will take place.

Caroline Flint: The BBC World Service carried out a strategic review of the BBC Russian Service in 2008 in order to increase its impact and deliver a better service to audiences in Russia. It will continue to seek new opportunities to expand Russian audiences' access to the BBC Russian Service.
	The BBC World Service has no plans for another strategic review of the service. However as with all services, it regularly reviews the Russian service output and assesses its impact through regular audience measurement.
	The BBC World Service is editorially and operationally independent of Government. Though the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was consulted on the recent changes to the Russia Service, strategic decisions on individual language service reviews are taken by the BBC World Service.

Somalia: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1281W, on Somalia: piracy, whether the UK has put forward proposals on building capacity and capability in the region to prosecute pirates; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The international Contact Group for Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) met in Cairo on 17 March 2009. The UK, as the chair of the Contact Group working group on international co-ordination and co-operation, asked for its mandate to be expanded to include regional capability development, given the importance of this work to a sustainable solution. This was agreed. As a result, and in co-ordination with key international organisations and partners, a UK-led needs assessment mission will be visiting the region in April/May to assess requirements in the judicial, penal and maritime security (Coastguard/naval) sectors. The mission will report back to the Contact Group via its working group as soon as possible, seeking funding support for the areas it assesses as priorities.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current strength is of the UNAMID force operating in Darfur; which nations are contributing to it; how many  (a) troops and  (b) police have been provided in each case; and how much funding each contributing nation is making available.

Gillian Merron: The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is now 15,136 troops, police and military observers, and approximately 2,000 civilians. The UK has staff officers deployed in UNAMID and is helping to train UNAMID police.
	A full breakdown of UNAMID troop and police contributors can be found here:
	http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/2008/dec08_5.pdf.
	There are currently 35 Troop Contributing Countries. The largest are: Nigeria with 3244 troops, Rwanda with 3241 and Ethiopia with 1470. There are currently 41 police contributing countries. The largest are: Ghana with 577 police officers, Nigeria with 268 police officers and two formed police units and Bangladesh with 88 police officers and one formed police unit.
	Funding for UNAMID is managed by the United Nations. As well as our assessed contribution, the UK is making available approximately £2.5 million of funding this financial year to train and equip African contributing nations.

Tamils: Cluster Bombs

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the alleged use of cluster bombs by the Sri Lankan authorities against Tamils.

Bill Rammell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North, (Joan Ryan), on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1176W.

Ukraine: Human Rights

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 18 December 2008
	An assessment of the human rights situation in Ukraine can be found in the 2007 FCO Human Rights Report
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/human-rights-report-2007
	and the European Commission's review of Ukraine's progress against its European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan
	http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/progress2008/sec08_402_en.pdf.
	Ukraine has made good progress in recent years on democratisation and freedom of expression and the media, with three consecutive elections recognised as largely free and fair, and a diverse and lively media environment. We welcome the increasing involvement of human rights organisations in Government work to protect human rights. There are, however, a number of areas where urgent action is required, for example on tackling corruption, strengthening the rule of law, reversing the rise in suspected serious racist and anti-Semitic attacks, preventing people trafficking, improving the way in which detainees are treated by the law enforcement agencies. We are working closely with Ukraine on all of these issues, in particular through the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how long on average his Department took to process claims for assistance under the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme with 100 per cent. of eligible mortgage interest in 2008; what the average was in the period immediately prior to 5 January 2009; and what it has been since that date;
	(2)  how many applications for support under the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme have been received in each of the last 24 months.

Kitty Ussher: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how long on average his Department took to process claims for assistance with 100% of eligible mortgage interest; what the average was in the period immediately prior to 5 January 2009; what it has been since that date; and how many applications for support under the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme have been received in each of the last 24 months. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus does not capture the average processing time for claims for assistance with 100% of eligible mortgage interest. What is recorded is the average clearance time for the processing of our benefits, for example Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and Income Support (IS). Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is not a separate benefit but rather forms an integral part of the benefits such as JSA and IS. The customer may not be eligible to claim SMI from day one of their claim and as a result that element will be processed later in the life of that claim. This is why we do not capture the clearance time.
	Jobcentre Plus does record the actual number of claims received for SMI, by benefit type. Please find attached this information for each of the last 24 months.
	No data on Employment and Support Allowance will be released until the first set of official statistics have been published in the Summer.
	
		
			  Claims received for mortgage interest, report ending February 2008 and 2009, Jobcentre Plus 
			  mortgage interest 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			   IS claims received  JSA claims received  IS claims received  JSA claims received 
			 March 3,923 2,181 2,479 1,690 
			 April 3,780 1,834 5,013 2,220 
			 May 4,065 2,168 2,335 2,090 
			 June 3,706 1,992 2,401 2,109 
			 July 3,598 2,020 2,946 2,481 
			 August 3,808 2,022 2,408 2,224 
			 September 3,965 2,001 2,583 2,662 
			 October 2,891 2,266 3,182 2,805 
			 November 3,612 2,317 2,479 2,855 
			 December 2,744 1,580 1,930 2,654 
			 January 3,560 2,500 2,083 3,727 
			 February 3,750 2,203 2,099 3,224 
			 12 month total 43,402 25,084 31,634 30,741

State Retirement Pensions

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on transitional measures for people who will reach the state pension age before 6 April 2010 and are not affected by the reduction in the number of years' employment required to qualify for a state pension.

Rosie Winterton: We are regularly engaged in discussion with stakeholders about the pensions system and pensions reform.
	Following representations, the Government introduced legislation in the Pensions Act 2008 which will help people, particularly women and carers, who have recently reached or are approaching state pension age and who have gaps in their national insurance records to improve their basic state pension.
	The measure will allow those who reach state pension age between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2015 to purchase voluntary class 3 national insurance contributions for up to an additional six years from 1975, provided they already have 20 qualifying years (taking into account home responsibilities protection).
	The measure, which came into force on 6 April 2009, will help to mitigate the potential differences in outcomes for people reaching state pension age either side of 6 April 2010.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Exercise

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expenditure his Department has incurred on the  (a) Active People and  (b) Taking Part survey in each year since they began.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
	 Active People survey
	The Active People survey was commissioned by Sport England in 2005 to measure adult participation in sport and active recreation at a local authority (LA) level. Core costs of the survey are therefore incurred by Sport England.
	In April 2008, the scope of the survey was extended to collect data for participation in cultural activities for the purposes of measuring LA national indicators owned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This cultural element of the survey is funded jointly (approximately 50:50) by DCMS and two partner bodies (Arts Council England and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council). The cost to DCMS in 2008-09 was £590,000, which included the cost of boosting the sample size to ensure robust data.
	 Taking Part survey
	The Taking Part survey was commissioned in 2005 and is jointly funded (again, approximately 50:50) by DCMS and four partner bodies (Arts Council England, English Heritage, Sport England and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council). The survey collects data about engagement and non-engagement in culture, leisure and sport at a national level, and is a National Statistic.
	Between 2005-06 and 2008-09, DCMS contributed the following levels to the cost of Taking Part.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 0.7 
			 2006-07 1.3 
			 2007-08 1.4 
			 2008-09 1.2 
		
	
	In addition to supporting core running costs of the survey, these figures include other expenses such as additional analysis, piloting and questionnaire reviews.

Licensed Premises: Closed Circuit Television

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance has been issued by his Department to local licensing authorities on whether the installation of CCTV inside licensed premises may be a compulsory prerequisite of holding a premises licence.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Installation of CCTV inside licensed premises is not a compulsory prerequisite of holding a premises licence. However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has issued guidance on the installation of CCTV inside licensed premises which can be found at the following web address:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3667.aspx

Public Libraries: Wirral

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  when Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council informed him of its plans to close 11 libraries; what discussions he had with  (a) the council,  (b) library users,  (c) library staff and  (d) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council on (i) the closures and (ii) consultation on the closures; what assessment he has made of whether the Council's library service is meeting the requirements of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he had with representatives of library users before he took the decision not to intervene in the library closure programme proposed by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council;
	(3)  if he will review his decision in relation to public libraries in Wirral and intervene to prevent Library closures.

Barbara Follett: Local authorities are not required to advise DCMS of plans to review their library service or reform their estate but, in December last year, following the receipt of letters from concerned residents, the Head of Library Services at Wirral metropolitan borough council confirmed to DCMS officials that the council planned to close 11 of its 24 libraries.
	The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), as the national strategic body for the library sector and a source of best practice advice, has been in discussion with Wirral council about the restructuring of the library service since before Christmas and has shared information with DCMS officials since that time. In February, the Secretary of State requested that Wirral council work with the MLA on the proposed restructure of library services. Following their work, the MLA wrote to the Secretary of State to express their concerns about the closures. As a result he intervened on 3 April 2009, by calling a local inquiry to test whether the council's plans are consistent with their statutory duties under the Public Libraries and Museums Act, 1964. The person appointed to carry out the DCMS inquiry will be announced shortly, and will invite the views of all interested parties. Its conclusions will form part of the DCMS Library Service Modernisation Review, to be published in June.
	The Secretary of State has discussed the decision to intervene with Councillor Steve Foulkes, Leader of Wirral metropolitan borough council. He has not however discussed the council's plans with library staff, library users or their representatives.
	As a separate issue, significant concern has been expressed by various stakeholders about the consultation process conducted by the council. If substantiated, this would constitute a procedural rather than a specific statutory duty failure by the council, the remedy for which would be outside the Secretary of State's powers under the Act.

Tickets: Touting

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps the Government have taken to combat ticket touting.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issued a consultation on ticketing and ticket touting running from 19 February 2009 to 15 May 2009. The consultation appears on its website:
	www.dcms.gov.uk
	Government will consider any steps needed after the end of the consultation period.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what guidance her Office issues on whether members of staff may claim for travel in first class carriages on trains if there are no seats in standard class.

Tessa Jowell: The Cabinet Office is committed to minimising travel costs and reducing our carbon footprint.
	The Cabinet Office's guidance to staff travelling by rail on official business is that standard class should be used. However, first class travel may be used when travelling over 2.5 hours.

Olympic Games 2012: Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many complaints the Olympic Delivery Authority has received in respect of its procurement and contract award procedures, broken down by geographic area.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has received no formal complaints in respect of its procurement and contract award procedures. It does, on request, provide feedback to businesses that have been unsuccessful in an ODA procurement. Details of the ODA's complaints procedure are available on the London 2012 website:
	http://www.london2012.com/index.php

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics 
	(1)  what interest rate is attached to the £225 million European Investment Bank loan being considered by the Government in respect of funding for the 2012 Olympic athletes' village;
	(2)  whether a loan from the European Investment Bank for the funding of the 2012 Olympics would need to be underwritten by the Government.

Tessa Jowell: The European Investment Bank (EIB) has given in-principle agreement to a loan in two parts. Part of that loan would assist with the financing of the social housing arising from the Olympic village; the other part would assist with the financing of the whole Olympic village.
	European Investment Bank loans are among a number of options being considered to fund the delivery of the Olympic village.
	The terms and conditions for any loan are yet to be agreed in full.
	Once a final decision has been taken about the funding of the Olympic village I will make a statement to the House.

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of the 2012 Olympic athletes' village is planned to be funded by  (a) public investment and  (b) private investment.

Tessa Jowell: As a number of options for funding the delivery of the Olympic village, remain under consideration, it is not possible to give a breakdown of public/private investment levels in the village project at this time. Once a decision is taken on the funding options, I will make a statement to the House.

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics to what main budget headings the Olympic Contingency Fund is allocated.

Tessa Jowell: Detail on the Olympic Contingency Fund is included in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games annual report 2009. The financial report section of that report includes a description of contingency fund budget headings.

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what provision she has made in the Olympic budget for the next six financial years for enterprises related to the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: The £9.325 billion public sector funding package exists primarily to deliver the venues and infrastructure which will enable the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games (LOCOG) to take place and will leave a valuable legacy of physical regeneration, particularly in East London. The bulk of this funding will have been spent by the time the games take place in 2012, just over three years from now.
	This expenditure creates considerable opportunities for UK business. The Olympic Delivery Authority and LOCOG will directly procure £6 billion worth of contracts, and this is expected to generate 75,000 supply chain opportunities. Where existing supply chains are not in place,—approximately 20 per cent. of contracts—these will be placed on CompeteFor, the brokerage service for buyers and suppliers which opens up supply chains to businesses, large and small across the UK. There will also be wider opportunities for businesses in sectors such as tourism, sport and hospitality.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in his Department are suspended; how many are suspended on full pay; for how long each has been suspended; and what the reasons are for each such suspension.

Paul Goggins: There is currently one member of staff in the Northern Ireland Office suspended. As there are fewer than five cases, details about the cases cannot be released for reasons of confidentiality.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 198W, on departmental official hospitality, how much his Department spent on hosting events in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The following table shows the expenditure recorded by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs, in relation to events it has hosted in the last five years:
	
		
			  Financial year  Expenditure on hosting events (£) 
			 2007-08 161,924 
			 2006-07 190,580 
			 2005-06 114,388 
			 2004-05 n/a 
			 2003-04 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	The Department records expenditure on hosting events within a general hospitality expenses heading. Since 2005-06, a separate database has been introduced to capture the details and costs of events hosted by the Northern Ireland Office. However, the provision of costs prior to 2005-06 would require a manual investigation of the hospitality expenses heading which could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.
	The events include Royal Garden Parties and receptions hosted at Hillsborough Castle, which acknowledge the contribution made by a wide range of people to life in Northern Ireland. These include representatives from the voluntary and business sectors and also the police and armed forces.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Select Committees: Internet

Nigel Evans: To ask the Leader of the House what recent representations she has received on the submission of evidence to Select Committee inquiries via internet video websites.

Chris Bryant: None.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Racial Hatred

Simon Burns: To ask the Solicitor-General how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there have been for offences relating to acts of racial hatred in (i) West Chelmsford constituency, (ii) Essex and (iii) England in each year since 2000.

Vera Baird: The CPS holds a record of the number of defendants prosecuted for racist hate crimes. The following table shows the number of such proceedings completed during each year for which figures are available, together with the outcome of proceedings. Outcomes are divided into conviction, including guilty pleas as well as convictions after trial, and unsuccessful outcomes, representing all outcomes other than a conviction.
	CPS records are not held by parliamentary constituency, but according to the organisation unit of the service responsible for conducting the prosecution.
	Separate figures are shown for north-east Essex, for CPS Essex, and for England. In addition, the table also shows figures for England and Wales in total.
	
		
			   Convictions  Unsuccessful  
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total 
			  2005-06  
			 North East Essex 25 83.3 5 16.7 30 
			 Essex total 121 65.1 65 34.9 186 
			 England 6,420 74.3 2,225 25.7 8,645 
			 England and Wales 6,785 74.2 2,365 25.8 9,150 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 North East Essex 41 89.1 5 10.9 46 
			 Essex total 156 79.2 41 20.8 197 
			 England 8,636 77.0 2,577 23.0 11,213 
			 England and Wales 9,038 76.9 2,712 23.1 11,750 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 North East Essex 61 84.7 11 15.3 72 
			 Essex total 185 74.9 62 25.1 247 
			 England 9,812 79.9 2,463 20.1 12,275 
			 England and Wales 10,254 79.9 2,575 20.1 12,829 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 North East Essex 45 84.9 8 15.1 53 
			 Essex total 200 84.0 38 16.0 238 
			 England 8,900 82.5 1,887 17.5 10,787 
			 England and Wales 9,306 82.4 1,982 17.6 11,288

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials in his Department are suspended; how many are suspended on full pay; for how long each has been suspended; and what the reasons are for each such suspension.

Michael Foster: There are no officials suspended.
	The Department for International Development's (DFID) detailed Disciplinary Procedure and Guidance notes are held on the internal website. All staff have access to the website.

Departmental Lost Property

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether officials in his Department who have lost laptops that were the property of his Department in the last 12 months have been charged the full value of replacement.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's policy is that staff are only charged for the cost of replacing laptops if it is established that the member of staff was negligent. No staff have been charged for the cost of a replacement laptop in the last 12 months.

Non-Governmental Organisations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which non-governmental organisations have received funds from the public purse to conduct aid work in Afghanistan in the last five years; and how much each received.

Michael Foster: For security reasons it is not possible to name the individual non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receiving direct funding from the Department for International Development (DFID).
	DFID has allocated the following amounts directly to NGOs over the last five years:
	
		
			  Funding provided 
			   £ 
			 2004-05 (1)— 
			 2005-06 4,083,540 
			 2006-07 2,592,558 
			 2007-08 3,625,886 
			 2008-09 7,123,535 
			 (1) No direct support to NGOs

Non-Governmental Organisations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which non-governmental organisations have received funds from the public purse to conduct aid work in Sudan in the last five years; and how much each received.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has indirectly funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out development and humanitarian work in Sudan through a number of channels: UN agencies that use NGOs as implementing partners for UN programmes; NGOs with which DFID has agreed Partnership Programme Arrangements; and pooled multilateral funds managed by the UN or World Bank that have disbursed to NGOs. Our total contributions to pooled multilateral funds for 2004-05 and 2008-09 are as follows:
	
		
			  Pooled funding—multilateral 
			   £ million 
			 Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) 165 
			 Sudan Recovery Fund (SRF) 15 
			 Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund (DCPSF) 3 
			 Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) 49.6 
			 UN Development Programme Strategic Partnership (SP) 19.7 
		
	
	DFID provides funds directly to NGOs under the Basic Services Fund for South Sudan; for programme delivery such as elections or disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) support; and through bilateral partnerships. DFID has funded the following organisations in this way between 2004-05 and 2008-09:
	
		
			  NGO  Total  f unding received (£ million) 
			 Oxfam GB 14.97 
			 GOAL 11.60 
			 Action Contre le Faim 8.10 
			 International Rescue Committee 7.26 
			 Medecins Sans Frontieres - Holland 6.20 
			 Medecins Sans Frontieres - Belgium 6.16 
			 Tearfund 4.63 
			 Medair 3.98 
			 Solidarites 3.70 
			 Save the Children UK 3.28 
			 Skills for Southern Sudan 3.14 
			 Christian Aid 2.53 
			 Medecins Sans Frontieres - France 2.52 
			 Mines Advisory Group 2.44 
			 Population Service International (PSI) 2.44 
			 Medecins du Monde 2.30 
			 Merlin 2.25 
			 Caritas 2.09 
			 Save the Children US 2.06 
			 Care International 1.90 
			 African Medical and Research Foundation 1.57 
			 Comitatio Colaborazione Medica 1.47 
			 Malaria Consortium 1.44 
			 Pact 1.35 
			 International Medical Corps 1.34 
			 Okenden International 1.31 
			 BBC World Service Trust 1.17 
			 RedR 1.17 
			 Humanitarian Assistance for South Sudan 1.15 
			 HALO Trust 0.95 
			 Concern Worldwide 0.79 
			 Femme Solidarites' Africa 0.70 
			 World Vision 0.50 
			 Adventist Development and Relief Agency 0.50 
			 Organismo Di Volontariato Per La Cooperazione Internazionale 0.46 
			 Freidrich Ebert Stiftung 0.39 
			 Hope and Homes for Children 0.38 
			 World Relief 0.37 
			 Windle Trust International 0.34 
			 Tufts University 0.28 
			 Together for Sudan 0.27 
			 Saferworld 0.24 
			 AMA 0.19 
			 Islamic Relief 0.19 
			 Centre for Police Research and Dialogue 0.17 
			 EISA 0.16 
			 Redress Trust 0.13 
			 Action Africa 0.13 
			 Total (1)113.3 
			 (1) Including following grants  Mothers for Peace, Ahfad University, the Small Arms Survey, Justice Africa, Sudan Production Aid, Padak Fisheries Training Centre, Loka Women's Association, the Africa Partnership Aid for Rehabilitation and Development, Al Asala Women's Association, Veterinaires Sans Frontieres, Rift Valley Institute, Friends for Africa International, Diocese of Rumbek, CMS Ireland, Valid International, Information Technology Development Group (now Practical Action), Carter Centre, Echo Bravo — Education Base, Save the Children Sweden, Overseas Development Institute and Catholic Relief Services have each received grants of £100,000 or less.

Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the  (a) volume and  (b) value of remittance flows to (i) Nigeria, (ii) Bangladesh and (iii) Ghana of the remittance country partnerships established with those countries; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The Bangladesh Partnership, led by the Bangladesh Central Bank, has improved payment systems throughout the banking system, promoted innovations in remittances and promoted better understanding of migrants' needs on remittance transmission channels. The Partnership has created incentives to use formal channels for transferring remittances rather than the informal 'hundi' system.
	The Ghanaian Partnership is now in its final design stage after an extensive consultation process with the Government. Discussions are still underway on a Nigerian partnership. In the meantime, the Department for International Development (DFID) supports 'Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access' (EFInA): an organisation that works with the Nigerian Government to address the regulatory challenges facing payment systems. This should improve the flow of formal remittances.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Business

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people have been employed in the small business sector in  (a) Hemel Hempstead,  (b) Hertfordshire and  (c) England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 28 April 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people have been employed in the small business sector in (a) Hemel Hempstead, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England in each year since 1997. (270378)
	Table 1 shows the number of employees within the size-band 0-49 employees from 1998 to 2007. Figures for 1997 are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of employees in the employee size-band 0-49 
			  Period  Hemel Hempstead  Hertfordshire  England 
			 1998 20,500 225,500 9,711,400 
			 1999 20,400 216,400 9,844,200 
			 2000 21,600 231,600 10,059,300 
			 2001 21,300 226,800 10,089,800 
			 2002 20,600 224,700 10,154,300 
			 2003 19,900 229,500 10,102,200 
			 2004 19,900 229,200 10,151,900 
			 2005 20,100 233,500 10,379,000 
			 2006 19,300 224,100 10,251,800 
			 2007 20,100 230,200 10,325,800 
			 (1 )Estimates for 2005 and earlier periods are on a different basis to those from 2006 onwards. A preliminary assessment of changes in survey methodology suggests that the estimated total number of employees (for GB at the whole economy level) was reduced by around 1 per cent. Direct comparisons of employee estimates over these different periods should therefore be treated with caution.  Source: Annual Business Inquiry

Business: Cleveland

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many businesses have entered into administration in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	There were 4,820 administrations (Enterprise Act 2002) in England and Wales in 2008. Statistics covering business administration are not currently available on a regional basis within England and Wales.

Charities: Sports

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Charity Commission plans to update its Guidance for charitable status and sport booklet R11.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew Hind, dated April 2009:
	As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question asking when the Charity Commission plans to update its Guidance on charitable status and sport, booklet RR11.
	The Commission's current work programme has RR11 scheduled for revision and publication by summer 2010.
	I hope this is helpful.

Elderly

David Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate he has made of the number of people likely to reach the state pension age before 6 April 2010.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question asking what recent estimate has been made of the number of people likely to reach the state pension age between now and 6 April 2010.
	The number people projected to reach state pension age in the United Kingdom between 22 April 2009 and 6 April 2010 is 660 thousand.
	This estimate is derived from the 2006-based national population projections for the United Kingdom, published in October 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 25 February 2009 asking for a meeting of voluntary organisations involved in human trafficking to discuss headquarter grants from the Voluntary Service Unit.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 19 March 2009
	 A response has been sent to the hon. Member.

Personal Income: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people resident in North East Milton Keynes constituency earn over  (a) £100,000 and  (b) £150,000 per annum.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	Detailed information on the distribution of incomes for each parliamentary constituency is not available due to small sample sizes at this level of geography.
	Available information on incomes by parliamentary constituency based on the latest available Survey of Personal Incomes (2006-07) can be found in table 3.15 "Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency' on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu.htm

Statistics: Tourism

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  when the decision was taken to delay the publication of statistics on foreign visitor numbers to the UK for the first quarter of 2009;
	(2)  whether any changes have been made to the methodology of the International Passenger Survey for 2009;
	(3)  when his Department plans to publish international passenger survey statistics on foreign visitor numbers to the UK for the first quarter of 2009.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply to the hon. Member. A copy of their response will be placed in the Library.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what major improvements have been made to the UK's airport infrastructure in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government support the sustainable development of airport infrastructure needed to serve the interests of air transport users and the wider UK economy. Within this policy framework, airport operators deliver infrastructure improvements. Over the last 12 months, there have been numerous infrastructure improvements at airports across the UK ranging from enhanced surface access links and terminal facilities to runway resurfacing. Details of all of these are generally available on the websites of individual airports.

Biofuels

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department plans to take to incentivise the use of recycled biofuel waste from road transport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 24 April 2009
	Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation suppliers of fossil fuel for transport are required to ensure that a proportion of the fuel they supply is renewable. In the first nine months of the scheme which began in April 2008 approximately 3 per cent. of the biofuel supplied was from recycled waste cooking oil.
	In January 2009 £27 million of public-private investment was made into the BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre which will include in its research programme biofuels made from waste. Under the renewable energy directive the use of biofuels produced from waste will be further incentivised as these will count as double towards meeting the target of 10 per cent. renewable energy in transport by 2020.

Bus Services: Concessions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many local authorities have informed his Department that the cost of providing concessionary bus fares under the national scheme was greater than the funding provided to them for that purpose by central Government in 2008-09.

Paul Clark: I am aware of the concerns of some local authorities regarding the allocation of concessionary travel special grant funding. Around 30 authorities, out of a total of nearly 300, have written to the Department for Transport to express their concerns. However, the bulk of funding for concessionary travel is not delivered by special grant, but through the formula grant process.
	The Government are confident that sufficient funding is available, in total, to fund statutory concessionary travel. Some authorities' analysis of their own funding arrangements can also misrepresent the true picture. Funding for concessionary travel is not separately identified within formula grant, so it is not possible to identify how much authorities receive specifically for providing concessionary travel. It is also the responsibility of authorities to ensure that operators are truly left no better and no worse off as a result of concessionary travel. Authorities should consider whether the new England-wide concession means that their existing reimbursement arrangements need to be reviewed.

Bus Services: Concessions

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities in England have withdrawn  (a) companion bus passes for those accompanying (i) deafblind and (ii) other disabled people and  (b) peak travel entitlement since 1 April 2009.

Paul Clark: It is not known which local authorities in England have withdrawn companion passes or concessionary travel at peak times since 1 April 2009. The Government are responsible for the statutory minimum concession that all travel concession authorities (TCAs) are required to provide. TCAs have discretion to enhance their concessionary travel schemes at their own expense. These can give residents concessionary travel beyond the statutory times or extend eligibility to other groups of people such as companions. Any decision to change these discretionary elements is entirely a matter for individual TCAs.
	The Department for Transport undertakes a biennial survey of TCAs, asking for details of their concessionary bus fares schemes for older and disabled people. The most recent results, to 30 June 2008, are published in Chapter 4 of the Public Transport Statistics Bulletin GB: 2008 edition. A copy is in the Library of the House.

Car Sharing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to encourage car sharing;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of  (a) the savings in carbon dioxide emissions attributable to car sharing in the last year for which figures are available and  (b) the potential future annual savings attributable to car sharing.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport promotes car sharing as one of a range of measures known collectively as 'smarter choices' or as part of a workplace or other travel plans. They are aimed at helping people travel in a more environmentally friendly way. In addition, the travel information service Transport Direct provides links to car sharing organisations and car clubs. The Department has also recently provided funding to Carplus so that it can continue to promote, develop and support car clubs and developed its car sharing website elements to support the promotion of car sharing. High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are being trialled on the M606/62.
	Because smarter choices relies on a package of measures, it is hard to disaggregate which measure produce which results, and the department does not currently produce either of the carbon dioxide estimates requested.

Departmental Pay

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants in his Department received bonus payment in financial year  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 1997-98 and  (c) 2002-03; how much was paid in bonuses in each of these years; and what percentage of his Department's civil servants received bonuses in each of these years.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 24 April 2009
	The Department for Transport comprises a central Department plus seven executive agencies each with its own pay and reward system. Information regarding bonus payments has been collected from the central department and its agencies and collated into one set of figures.
	The number of Civil Servants in DFT to receive a non-consolidated performance payment in 2008-09 was 13,471 which is 68 per cent. of staff. The total amount paid was £11,267,771, an average payment of £836.
	DFT was created in 2003 therefore there are no figures for 1997-98 and 2002-03.

Parking: Nottingham

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce a decision on the proposal for a workplace parking levy in Nottingham; and what criteria will apply in reaching that decision.

Paul Clark: An announcement of the decision on Nottingham city council's workplace parking order, and the reasons for it will be made as soon as possible.

Ports: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what major improvements have been made to the UK's ports in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government support the sustainable development of ports to meet the needs of port users and the wider economy. The diverse and competitive ports sector in the UK undertakes infrastructure improvements according to market conditions. The ports sector has successfully maintained a consistent share of handling 95 per cent. of UK goods in international trade by volume in competition with other modes of transport. Details of improvements undertaken at ports in the UK are generally available on the websites of individual ports.

Public Transport: Greater Manchester

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the provision of funding by the Transport Innovation Fund previously available for proposals to develop public transport strategy in Manchester in light of the recent decision by Greater Manchester authorities not to proceed with the proposed congestion zone.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport will continue to engage with local authorities who seek to bring forward packages of transport measures to tackle local congestion problems in line with the Transport Innovation Fund criteria.

Railway Stations

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to upgrade facilities at railway stations in the next 12 months.

Paul Clark: 2009-10 is the first year of implementation of the National Stations Improvement programme. Under this programme, the Government are providing £150 million over five years for the modernisation of around 150 stations. The programme is being led by Network Rail.
	The Access for All programme is continuing to install obstacle free, accessible routes into priority stations. 145 stations have been identified for enhancement through to 2015. 24 sites are now finished and Network Rail expect to complete a further 20 during 2009-10. In addition, the Access for All Small Schemes programme has awarded funding of £6.2 million towards a variety of access improvements with a total value of around £37 million at over 500 stations during this financial year.
	In addition, Reading station is being re-developed. This is a five year project with a total value of around £800 million and will increase capacity and improve performance on a key railway junction on the Great Western main line. Planning consent is underway and when achieved, enabling works will commence, scheduled for the beginning of 2010.
	At Birmingham New Street station the Department for Transport is providing a significant contribution to the £600 million gateway scheme to redevelop this station. Work is scheduled to begin later in 2009 and will deliver significant improvement in passenger handling capacity, access, facilities and environment.

Railways: Electrification

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway track have been electrified since 1997; and what percentage of the network this constitutes.

Paul Clark: Between 1996-97 and 2007-08 approximately 46 route miles were electrified, accounting for about 0.5 per cent. of the GB network that is open to passenger traffic. Electrification schemes completed during this period include Heathrow Express and Crewe to Kidsgrove. Rail electrification in Scotland is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.
	 Source:
	Table 6.1, Transport Statistics Great Britain 2008

Railways: Safety

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent reports he has received on the safety of doors on high-speed trains operated by First Great Western.

Paul Clark: The Office of Rail Regulation (the independent rail safety regulator) has received the information in the following table on the safety of doors on high speed trains operated by First Great Western.
	
		
			  First Great Western (FGW) door incidents 
			  Date  Unit  Location  Details 
			 7 February 2008 HST Taunton Train brought to emergency stop two miles from Taunton after customer host discovered open door in coach H. Failure by dispatcher. 
			 
			 12 February 2008 HST Bodmin Parkway Train brought to emergency stop approximately three miles from Bodmin after passenger discovered open door in coach B. Train dispatched by guard only, without dispatcher present. 
			 
			 14 February 2008 HST Camborne Train brought to emergency stop by train manager as door in coach C opened on departure. 
			 
			 19 May 2008 HST Exeter St. Thomas Train brought to emergency stop by train manager as door opened on departure and struck infrastructure. 
			 
			 30 October 2008 HST Hamstead Train brought to emergency stop as train door open. Human error—dispatched from Newbury while dispatcher distracted by threat of violence from youths on platform. Dispatcher advised. 
			 
			 15 March 2009 HST Evesham Train dispatched with door not closed on departure from Honeybourne. 
		
	
	Selective Door Operation (SDO), which is operated by the train manager and which prevents doors not at platforms from opening, has now been fitted to the whole First Great Western (FGW) HST fleet as part of the refurbishment undertaken since the beginning of the new FGW franchise.
	Following the change in FGW's selective door opening policy in relation to short platforms, there was a spate of door incidents in early 2008. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) reviewed the industry's investigations into these incidents—including the changes that FGW made to its selective door opening policy to deal with these incidents (including the one of May 2008).
	The RAIB review concluded that no further investigation by RAIB was necessary at this time, but it would keep the situation under review. Following the changes made by FGW, there have been two subsequent incidents. The RAIB considered both of these and their particular circumstances. One clearly was due to specific distraction, and for the other RAIB is still ascertaining the circumstances and the action proposed by FGW as part of our ongoing monitoring. The RAIB is not aware of any door opening incidents on HSTs operated by other train operators over the last year, but continues to monitor Network Rail's daily log for reports of door incidents.

Speed Limits: Castle Point

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to improve signs alerting motorists to speed limits and average speed cameras on the A130 Canvey Way in Castle Point.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Signing is the responsibility of local traffic authorities. The Department for Transport's guidance on the use of speed cameras stipulates that drivers should be warned of the presence of cameras and reminded of the speed limit through signing. The guidance states that camera housings should be yellow and recommends that camera signs should be co-located with speed limit signs where permitted and practicable. In addition, all speed limit signing must be lawful and correct and in accordance with the traffic signs regulations and general directions (TSRGD) in order for speed limits to be enforced. The guidance has been placed in the Library of the House and is also available on the Department's website.

Transport: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what major transport infrastructure projects have been undertaken in the Bournemouth area in the last five years.

Paul Clark: Following the decision in 2005 to give regions a greater role in determining priorities for major transport schemes with indicative allocations, the Government announced in July 2006 plans to fund a programme of major transport schemes in the period to 2015-16. The programme includes the Poole Bridge Regeneration Initiative which is subject to major scheme approval by the Department for Transport. No other major transport scheme proposals in the Bournemouth area have been received by the Department in the last five years.
	It is for the South East Dorset authorities (Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch) to determine how capital allocations for integrated transport and highways maintenance are utilised and whether to put forward major transport scheme proposals.
	We have made the following capital allocations to the South East Dorset authorities in the five years to 2008-09:
	
		
			  South East Dorset (Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch) 
			  £000 
			   2004-5  2005-6  2006-7  2007-8  2008-9  Total 
			 Integrated Transport 3,052 3,066 3,032 4,050 3,299 16,499 
			 Maintenance 3,247 2,699 5,757 2,321 2,366 16,390 
			 Total 6,299 5,765 8,789 6,371 5,665 32,889

TREASURY

Financial Recovery

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the likely duration of the recession.

Yvette Cooper: The Government set out their forecast in paragraph B.59 in the Budget.

Fiscal Rules

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his plans are for the future of the Government's fiscal rules.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Henley (John Howell) on the Floor of the House today.

Government Borrowing

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of UK Government borrowing compared with those in other OECD economies.

Angela Eagle: Global economic developments will have a profound effect on the fiscal positions of most countries. The OECD published its Interim Economic Outlook on 31 March 2009, which forecast the UK deficit to be 9.3 per cent. of GDP in 2009.

Bank Lending

Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the likely effects on levels of bank lending of the measures proposed in his Budget statement.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.
	The Bank of England will publish a monthly report on 'Trends in Lending'. The first report in this series was published on 21 April.

Bank Lending

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the lending practices of banks in receipt of support from public funds.

Ian Pearson: RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have entered into legally binding agreements to increase the amount of lending they provide to home owners and businesses. The Government will monitor these arrangements and report to Parliament annually.

Bank Lending

Robert Flello: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the likely effects on levels of bank lending of the measures proposed in his Budget statement.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.
	The first monthly report on "Trends in lending" was published by the Bank of England on 21 April.

Savings

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to protect savers from the effects of low interest rates.

Ian Pearson: The Government recognise the importance of saving in providing people with independence throughout their lives, security if things go wrong and comfort in retirement. Budget 2009 announced that the annual ISA investment limits will rise to £10,200, up to £5,100 of which can be held in cash, from April 2010. These new limits will apply from October 2009 for people aged 50 and over.

Savings

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to assist savers.

Ian Pearson: The Government recognise the importance of saving in providing people with independence throughout their lives, security if things go wrong and comfort in retirement. Budget 2009 announced that the annual ISA investment limits will rise to £10,200, up to £5,100 of which can be held in cash, from April 2010. And these new limits will apply from October 2009 for people aged 50 and over.
	The Government also announced an extra £100 per year to the Child Trust Funds of disabled children, with £200 per year to severely disabled children.
	In addition, the Saving Gateway will be introduced nationally in 2010 to encourage saving among working age people on lower incomes.

Money Flow

Sally Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken to increase the flow of money in the economy.

Yvette Cooper: The Budget assessment is that it will take time to fully restore the effective functioning of financial markets. The Government have taken a number of steps to increase lending and confidence. Under the Asset Protection Scheme, RBS and Lloyds will lend an additional £39 billion in the year from March.

Business Confidence

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the likely effects on levels of business confidence of the measures proposed in his Budget statement.

Angela Eagle: The Chancellor received a number of representations from a variety of organisations before the Budget statement on 22 April. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Business Confidence

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the likely effects on levels of business confidence of the measures proposed in his Budget statement.

Angela Eagle: The Chancellor received a number of representations from a variety of organisations before the Budget statement on Wednesday 22 April. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Budget

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the effects on the economy of the measures proposed in his Budget statement.

Angela Eagle: The Chancellor received a number of representations from a variety of organisations before the Budget statement on 22 April. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Tax and Public Spending

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of his proposed tax and public spending changes for 2010-11 and 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Government set out their latest assessment of economic prospects in the Budget, taking account of all relevant factors.

Tax and Public Spending

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of his proposed tax and public spending changes for 2010-11 and 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Government set out its latest assessment of economic prospects in the Budget, taking account of all relevant factors.

World Bank Fund

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what commitments the Government made to the World Bank fund for the world's poorest countries at the G20 summit.

Ian Pearson: The UK's contribution to the 15th replenishment of the International Development Association will be £2.134 billion for the three years 2008-09-2010-11.
	The London summit of G20 leaders set out a clear plan for assisting the poorest countries through the global crisis. Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals and achieving Official Development Assistance pledges; made $50 billion available to low income countries—this includes the World Bank Rapid Social Response Fund to which the UK is contributing £200 million; agreed the IMF should double confessional lending access limits and capacity to increase support to low income countries; agreed to review the flexibility of the Debt Sustainability Framework; and called on the UN to establish a mechanism to monitor the impact of the crisis on the poor.

Employment

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the likely effects on levels of employment of the measures proposed in his Budget statement.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations. Taken together, the total policy support for the UK economy since last October is expected to support up to half a million jobs.

Public Sector Debt

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of public sector net debt per household in each of the next three years.

Yvette Cooper: The Government set out their fiscal projections in the Budget report 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 5 March 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, on Sarah Louise Harold.

Stephen Timms: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 27 April.

National Income

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of gross domestic product composed housing sector receipts in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of revenue in each category of housing sector receipt in each of the next three years;
	(3)  how much housing sector receipts were as a percentage of all taxation receipts in each year since 1997.

Ian Pearson: Box C3 in Budget 2009 provides details of housing and financial sector receipts as a percentage of GDP. Taxes such as capital gains tax and inheritance tax will reflect both housing and financial assets. Stamp duty will reflect shares, housing and commercial property.
	Outturn data for stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax are available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf
	and
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/1_2_v2_dec05.pdf
	Table 2.9 in Budget 2009: the economy and public finances—supplementary material provides projections for stamp duty, inheritance tax and capital gains tax up to 2013-14. This is available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_econfinances_968.pdf
	Total taxation receipts are available in Table C1 of the Public Finances Databank:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/public_finances_databank.xls

Public Expenditure

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects disbursement of funds from the £3 billion fiscal package for infrastructure to commence; and what types of infrastructure he expects to be supported by such funds.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Davies) on 26 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 633-34W.

Taxation

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount which accrued to the Exchequer from tax on  (a) income from sponsorship,  (b) income from endorsements and  (c) other income earned by overseas sports people competing in the UK.

Stephen Timms: No estimates have been made and HMRC cannot extract the information requested from the data it holds.

HEALTH

Cancer: Mental Health Services

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the guidance provided by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the provision of psychosexual support to cancer patients has been implemented.

Ann Keen: Recommendations on the provision of psychosexual support for cancer patients are set out in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on supportive and palliative care, published in 2004.
	Plans for the implementation of this guidance are now in place in every cancer network. The guidance is expected to be fully implemented by December 2009.

Carbon Monoxide: Departmental Coordination

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the last interdepartmental meeting at which issues relating to carbon monoxide were discussed and attended by members of his Department was held; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The most recent meeting of the Health and Safety Executive-led Officials Group on Gas Safety and Carbon Monoxide Awareness was held on 5 September 2007 and was attended by departmental officials.

Chernobyl

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many farms now have restrictions on land use as a result of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident in April 1986; what area of land is affected; and what evaluation he has made of the effect on the rural economy of these restrictions.

Dawn Primarolo: We have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that restrictions on land use as a result of the Chernobyl accident relate to sheep farming only. There are 369 farms, or part farms, and approximately 190,000 sheep within the restricted areas of England, Scotland and Wales. This represents a reduction of over 95 per cent. since 1986, when approximately 9,700 farms and 4,225,000 sheep were under restriction across the United Kingdom. All restrictions in Northern Ireland were lifted in 2000.
	The Food Standards Agency has not evaluated the effect of these restrictions on the rural economy.
	
		
			   Number of farms under restriction  Approximate number of sheep  Approximate land area (hectare) 
			 Wales 355 180,000 53,000 
			 England 9 7,000 12,000 
			 Scotland 5 3,000 7,000 
			 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 
			 Total 369 190,000 72,000

Departmental Aviation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials from his Department of each  (a) grade and  (b) directorate have flown by British Airways on official business in each of the last five years; what the (i) destination and (ii) cost of the ticket was in each case; what his policy is on the use of British Airways by his Department's officials; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Travel by civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the "Civil Service Management Code". The Department does not have a policy on the use of British Airways.
	The details of air travel on British Airways by officials are not easily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answers of 1 July 2008,  Official Report, column 862W and 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1675W, on departmental freedom of information, if he will place in the Library a copy of the information provided on each topic in respect of which the request was  (a) agreed to and answered in full and  (b) agreed to and answered in part since July 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Eczema

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were diagnosed with eczema in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on  (a) the treatment of and  (b) research into eczema in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of people diagnosed with eczema and the cost of their treatment is not collected.
	Investment in eczema research in the 10 years from 1998-99 has been undertaken by the National Institute for Health Research health technology assessment programme, and has been as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1998-99 169,221 
			 1999-2000 169,997 
			 2000-01 192,495 
			 2002-03 55,776 
			 2006-07 129,736 
			 2007-08 273,912 
		
	
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies though which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. In the last 10 years, the MRC has funded three research projects specifically relating to eczema at a total cost of £2.2 million. The MRC also funds a broad portfolio of research relevant to dermatology and skin disorders (amounting to around £2.8 million in 2007-08) some of which may benefit sufferers of eczema in the future.

Electricity: Health Hazards

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned,  (b) undertaken and  (c) evaluated on the effects of electro-magnetic fields on (i) public health, (ii) the health of those under the age of 18 and (iii) the health of the elderly population in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has commissioned, either directly or through the Health Protection Agency (HPA), research on the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the following areas:
	exposure to radiofrequency fields including from mobile phones, base stations, terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) and WiFi;
	studies to examine the potential cellular and behavioural effects of radiofrequency fields;
	measurement of exposures to power frequency fields for population studies;
	laboratory studies of the effects of power frequency fields on cells; and
	development of realistic three dimensional (voxel) models for male, female, and pregnant female, to allow assessment of exposures from electromagnetic field sources at various frequencies.
	The Department's Radiation Protection Research (RPR) programme mainly covers ionising radiation research topics, but it also includes research on EMF. Information on the current RPR programme research strategy and research projects can be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_082096
	A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The independently managed Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme, jointly funded by Government and industry has supported a number of studies into the possible health effects of radiofrequency technology relating both to base stations and hand-held mobile phones. The MTHR programme published its first report in September 2007. None of the 23 individual studies reported under this programme to date demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones or base stations. Ongoing studies include a case control study of cancer incidence in early childhood and proximity to mobile phone base stations.
	The MTHR programme management committee recognised that some concerns still remain and proposed a further programme of work. Three studies in this second phase are under way. Details of all MTHR projects can be found on the MTHR website at:
	www.mthr.org.uk
	The Department additionally has provided an annual contribution to the World Health Organisation International Electromagnetic Fields Project since its inception in 1996. Information on this project can be found at:
	http://www.who.int/peh-emf/project/en/
	The Department has not commissioned any research specifically on the effects of EMF on the health of elderly people.
	The HPA's Radiation Protection Division keeps the relevant research publications under continual review largely through its Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation and provides advice on electromagnetic fields and health to Government and the general public at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/

Fertility: Medical Treatments

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts restrict access to fertility services if a person or their partner has a child from a current relationship or any previous relationship.

Dawn Primarolo: Most primary care trusts (PCTs) do not commission fertility services for couples who already have a child together. Approximately 40 per cent. of PCTs will not fund fertility services if either partner has a child from a previous relationship, whereas about 30 per cent. of PCTs require at least one of the partners to be childless in order to be eligible. The remaining PCTs have differing eligibility criteria, for example whether there are any children under a certain age living with the couple. We have funded the leading fertility patient support group, Infertility Network UK, to draw up standardised access criteria as a guideline to help PCTs in working towards more equitable provision, and this is in progress.

Fertility: Medical Treatments

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts funded only one fresh cycle of IVF in 2008.

Dawn Primarolo: Approximately 33 primary care trusts (PCTs) commissioned one fresh cycle of in vitro fertilisation in 2008. From April 2009 12 of these PCTs have increased the amount commissioned and 18 are considering increases.

Fertility: Medical Treatments

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which NHS Trusts in vitro fertilisation treatment is provided.

Dawn Primarolo: Good progress is being made in the commissioning of in vitro fertilisation treatment by primary care trusts (PCTs). All provide this treatment, though North Staffordshire PCT considers exceptional cases rather than routinely commissioning services and North Yorkshire and York provides treatment for women within a very limited age range. This compares favourably with non-provision by 14 PCTs in 2006.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the genito-urinary medicine clinics in England.

Dawn Primarolo: The organisations submitting data on the Department's genito-urinary medicine access monthly monitoring return are shown as follows.
	
		
			  Organisations submitting data on the Department of Health Genito-Urinary Medicine Access Monthly Monitoring (GUMAMM) return, February 2009 
			  SHA code  Provider code  Provider name  Clinic code  Clinic name 
			 Q36 5C1 Enfield PCT 5C111 Enfield Town Clinic 
			 Q36 5C9 Haringey Teaching PCT 5C910 St. Ann's Hospital 
			 Q34 5CN Herefordshire PCT 5CN18 Sexual Health at Gaol Street 
			 Q30 5D7 Newcastle PCT 5D704 Newcastle PCT GUM Clinic 
			 Q30 5D8 North Tyneside PCT 5D802 1 to 1 Centre 
			 Q31 5F5 Salford PCT 5F535 Hope Hospital 
			 Q31 5HP Blackpool PCT 5HP13 Blackpool Victoria Hospital 
			 Q36 5K7 Camden PCT 5K702 The Archway Sexual Health Clinic 
			 Q36 5K7 Camden PCT 5K7MM Mortimer Market Centre 
			 Q31 5LH Tameside and Glossop PCT 5LH24 Tameside and Glossop PCT 
			 Q34 5PL Worcestershire PCT 5MT19 The Arrowside Unit 
			 Q34 5PL Worcestershire PCT 5MT25 The John Anthony Centre 
			 Q34 5MX Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 5MX16 Whittall St Clinic 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N916 Lincoln Sexual Health Clinic 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N927 Boston Sexual Health Clinic 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N950 Pilgrim Hospital 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N951 Grantham Hospital 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N952 Clinic 10 Lincoln GUM 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N955 Gainsborough Sexual Health Clinic 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N956 Louth Spectrum Sexual Health Clinic 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N957 Spalding Sexual Health Clinic 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N958 Skegness and District Hospital 
			 Q33 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 5N964 Newland Integrated Centre 
			 Q31 5NE Cumbria Teaching PCT 5NE4P Furness General Hospital 
			 Q31 5NF North Lancashire Teaching PCT 5NF61 Ashton Community Care Centre 
			 Q31 5NG Central Lancashire PCT 5NG82 Royal Preston Hospital 
			 Q32 5NV North Yorkshire and York PCT 5NV9C Craven GUM Clinic 
			 Q32 5NX Hull Teaching PCT 5NX23 Conifer House 
			 Q32 5NY Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 5NY24 Keighley Health Centre 
			 Q35 5P3 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 5P3J6 Woodlands Clinic Lister Hospital 
			 Q35 5P3 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 5P3JJ Hertford County Hospital 
			 Q37 5P5 Surrey PCT 5P505 Farnham Road Hospital 
			 Q37 5P5 Surrey PCT 5P506 Leatherhead Hospital 
			 Q37 5P5 Surrey PCT 5P5A1 East Surrey Hospital 
			 Q37 5P6 West Sussex PCT 5P667 Crawley Hospital 
			 Q37 5P7 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 5P722 Avenue House 
			 Q37 5P8 Hastings And Rother PCT 5P808 Ore Clinic 
			 Q33 5PA Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 5PAAC Loughborough General Hospital 
			 Q34 5PK South Staffordshire PCT 5PK21 Sir Robert Peel Hospital 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QA04 West Thanet Suite 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QAD1 Dover Health Centre 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QAE6 William Harvey Hospital 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QAFA Folkestone Health Centre 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QAK1 Kent and Canterbury Hospital 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QAR1 Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital 
			 Q37 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent IPCT 5QARV Sheppey Hospital 
			 Q38 5QD Buckinghamshire PCT 5QD31 Brookside Clinic 
			 Q38 5QG Berkshire East PCT 5QG12 The Garden Clinic 
			 Q39 5QH Gloucestershire PCT 5QH04 Hope House on Gloucester Royal Hospital Site 
			 Q39 5QH Gloucestershire PCT 5QH05 Benhall Clinic on Cheltenham General Hospital Site 
			 Q38 5QT Isle of Wight NHS PCT 5QT01 St. Mary's Hospital (Isle of Wight) 
			 Q39 RA3 Weston Area Health NHS Trust RA301 The Wish Clinic 
			 Q39 RA4 Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RA430 Yeovil District Hospital 
			 Q39 RA7 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust RA701 Bristol Royal Infirmary Milne Centre 
			 Q39 RA9 South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust RA901 Torbay Hospital 
			 Q32 RAE Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RAE01 Trinity Centre 
			 Q35 RAJ Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RAJ01 Southend Hospital 
			 Q36 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust RAL01 The Royal Free Hospital 
			 Q36 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust RAS01 Tudor Wing Hillingdon Hospital 
			 Q36 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust RAX36 Wolverton Clinic Kingston Hospital 
			 Q39 RBA Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust RBA11 Taunton and Somerset Hospital 
			 Q39 RBD Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RBD05 Weymouth and District Hospital 
			 Q34 5PM Warwickshire PCT RBJ01 Hospital of St. Cross 
			 Q34 RBK Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust RBK02 The Manor Hospital 
			 Q31 RBL Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RBL14 Arrowe Park Hospital 
			 Q31 RBN St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust RBN02 St. Helen's Hospital 
			 Q31 RBT The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust RBT20 Leighton Hospital 
			 Q39 RBZ Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust RBZ12 North Devon District General Hospital 
			 Q35 RC1 Bedford Hospital NHS Trust RC110 Bedford Hospital Bridge House 
			 Q36 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust RC368 Ealing Hospital Pasteur Suite 
			 Q35 RC9 Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RC900 Luton and Dunstable Hospital 
			 Q32 RCB York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RCBJC Monkgate Health Centre 
			 Q32 5NV North Yorkshire and York IPCT RCC25 The Mulberry Unit 
			 Q32 5NV North Yorkshire and York IPCT RCD35 Heatherdene Centre for Sexual Health 
			 Q35 RCX The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust RCX70 Queen Elizabeth Hospital 
			 Q39 RD1 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust RD101 Royal United Hospital 
			 Q39 RN3 Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RD102 Chippenham Community Hospital 
			 Q38 RD8 Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RD816 Milton Keynes General Hospital 
			 Q35 5PY South West Essex PCT RDDH1 Orsett Hospital 
			 Q35 RDE Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust RDE02 Needas/Open Road Clinic 
			 Q35 RDE Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust RDEE2 Clacton and District Hospital 
			 Q35 RDE Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust RDEEB Essex County Hospital 
			 Q35 RDE Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust RDEEK Halstead Hospital 
			 Q37 RDU Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RDU01 Frimley Park Hospital 
			 Q39 RDZ The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation RDZ20 Royal Bournemouth Hospital 
			 Q30 5KG South Tyneside PCT RE9GA Stanhope Parade Health Centre 
			 Q39 REF Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust REF01 West Cornwall Hospital 
			 Q39 REF Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust REF12 Royal Cornwall Hospital Treliske 
			 Q36 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust RF4BK Sydenham Centre Barking Hospital 
			 Q36 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust RF40C Oldchurch Hospital 
			 Q32 RFF Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RFFAA Barnsley District General Hospital 
			 Q32 RFR The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust RFRPA Rotherham General Hospital 
			 Q33 RFS Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RFSDA Suite 7 Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital 
			 Q36 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust RFW01 West Middlesex University Hospital 
			 Q36 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust RG222 Queen Elizabeth Hospital Trafalgar Clinic 
			 Q36 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust RG302 Beckenham Hospital 
			 Q36 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust RGCKH Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 
			 Q35 RGN Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RGN42 Peterborough District Hospital 
			 Q35 RGP James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RGP75 Bure Clinic James Paget Hospital 
			 Q35 RGQ Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust RGQ02 Ipswich Hospital 
			 Q35 RGR West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust RGR50 West Suffolk Hospital 
			 Q35 RGT Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RGT01 Clinic lA Addenbrookes 
			 Q39 5QQ Devon PCT RH801 Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Heavitree) 
			 Q38 5L1 Southampton City PCT RHM02 Royal South Hants Hospital 
			 Q32 RHQ Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RHQHH Royal Hallamshire Hospital 
			 Q38 RHU Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust RHU02 St. Mary's Hospital 
			 Q38 RHW Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust RHW01 Royal Berkshire Hospital 
			 Q36 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust RJ121 Lloyd Clinic Guys Hospital 
			 Q36 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust RJ122 Lydia Clinic St. Thomas's Hospital 
			 Q36 RYJ Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust RYJ01 Jefferiss Wing St. Mary's Hospital 
			 Q36 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust RJ611 Mayday University Hospital 
			 Q36 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust RJ701 Courtyard Clinic Knightsbridge Wing St. George's Hospital 
			 Q36 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust RJ731 Roehampton Clinic Queen Mary's University Hospital 
			 Q39 REF Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust RJ807 Newquay and District Hospital 
			 Q34 RJC South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust RJC02 The Jephson Centre Warwick Hospital 
			 Q34 RJC South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust RJC03 The Hathaway Centre Stratford 
			 Q34 RJD Mid Staffordshire General. Hospitals NHS Trust RJD01 Staffordshire General Hospital 
			 Q34 RJD Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust RJD13 Cannock Chase Hospital 
			 Q34 RJE University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust RJE01 University of North Staffordshire Trust 
			 Q34 RJF Burton Hospitals NHS Trust RJF02 Delia Morris Centre 
			 Q32 RJL Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RJL30 Diana Princess of Wales Hospital 
			 Q32 RJL Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RJL32 Scunthorpe General Hospital 
			 Q31 5NP Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT RJN71 Macclesfield District General Hospital 
			 Q31 RJR Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RJR01 Countess of Chester Hospital 
			 Q36 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RJZ01 Kings College Hospital 
			 Q33 RK5 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RK5BC Kings Mill Hospital 
			 Q33 RK5 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RK5HP Newark Hospital 
			 Q39 RK9 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust Rk950 Derriford Hospital Level 5 
			 Q34 5MD Coventry Teaching PCT RKB02 Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital 
			 Q34 RL4 The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust RL401 New Cross Hospital 
			 Q30 RLN City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust RLNGL Sunderland District General Hospital 
			 Q34 RLT George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust RLT01 George Eliot Hospital 
			 Q35 RM1 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust RM102 Norfolk and Norwich Hospital 
			 Q31 RM2 University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust RM201 Withington Hospital 
			 Q31 RM4 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust RM401 Trafford General Hospital 
			 Q31 5HQ Bolton PCT RMC01 Royal Bolton Hospital 
			 Q38 RN1 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust RN100 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 
			 Q39 RN3 Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RN325 The Great Western Hospital 
			 Q38 RN5 Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust RN506 North Hampshire Hospital 
			 Q37 RN7 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust RN707 Darent Valley Hospital 
			 Q34 RNA Dudley Group Of Hospitals NHS Trust RNA02 The Guest Hospital 
			 Q36 RNH Newham University Hospital NHS Trust RNHB1 Newham General Hospital 
			 Q36 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust RNJ12 The Royal London Hospital 
			 Q36 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust RNJ65 St. Bartholomew's Hospital 
			 Q31 RNL North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RNL06 Workington Community Hospital 
			 Q31 RNL North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RNLAY Cumberland Infirmary 
			 Q33 RP1 Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust RNQ51 Warren Hill Centre Kettering General Hospital 
			 Q33 RP1 Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust RNS01 Northampton General Hospital 
			 Q39 RNZ Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust RNZ01 Salisbury District Hospital 
			 Q32 RP5 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RP5DR Doncaster Royal Infirmary 
			 Q32 RP5 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RP5RE Retford Hospital 
			 Q37 RPA Medway NHS Trust RPA02 Medway Maritime Hospital (St. Bart's Rochester) 
			 Q37 RPL Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust RPL03 Warren Browne Unit 
			 Q37 RPR Royal West Sussex NHS Trust RPR01 St. Richard's Hospital Fletcher Clinic 
			 Q31 RQ6 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust RQ617 Royal Liverpool Hospital 
			 Q35 RQ8 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust RQ8LH St. John's Hospital 
			 Q36 ROM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RQM01 John Hunter Clinic Chelsea and Westminster Hospital 
			 Q36 ROM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RQM02 The Victoria Clinic South Westminster Centre 
			 Q36 ROM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RQM03 Charing Cross Hospital 
			 Q35 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT RQQTC Hinchingbrooke Hospital Clinic 6 
			 Q35 ROW The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust RQWG5 Princess Alexandra Hospital 
			 Q36 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RQXM1 Homerton Hospital 
			 Q34 RR1 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust RR101 Birmingham Heartlands Hospital 
			 Q32 RR8 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust RR801 Leeds General Infirmary 
			 Q31 5HQ Bolton PCT RRF54 Thomas Linacre Centre 
			 Q33 RTG Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RTGFA William Donald Clinic Derby GUM clinic 
			 Q38 RTH Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust RTH01 Harrison Department Radcliffe Infirmary 
			 Q38 RTH Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust RTHA5 Banbury GUM Clinic Orchard Health Centre 
			 Q37 RTK Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust RTK01 St. Peter's Hospital 
			 Q30 RTR South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust RTR00 The James Cook University Hospital 
			 Q30 RTR South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust RTR45 Friarage Hospital 
			 Q30 RTR South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust RTRHP University Hospital of Hartlepool 
			 Q36 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust RV820 Northwick Park Hospital 
			 Q36 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust RV831 Central Middlesex Hospital 
			 Q36 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust RVL01 Barnet General Hospital 
			 Q36 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust RVR05 St. Helier Hospital 
			 Q30 RVW North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust RVWAE University Hospital of North Tees 
			 Q31 RVY Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust RVY01 Southport District General Hospital 
			 Q31 RW3 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospital RW3MR Manchester Royal Infirmary 
			 Q31 RW6 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RW601 Fairfield General Hospital 
			 Q31 RW6 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RW602 North Manchester Hospital 
			 Q31 RW6 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RW603 Royal Oldham Hospital 
			 Q31 RW6 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RW604 Baillie Street Health Centre 
			 Q33 RWE University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust RWEAA Leicester Royal Infirmary 
			 Q33 RWE University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust RWEAK Leicester General Hospital 
			 Q33 RWE University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust RWESP St. Peter's Health Centre 
			 Q37 RWF Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust RWF02 Kent and Sussex Hospital 
			 Q37 RWF Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust RWF05 Preston Hall Hospital 
			 Q35 RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWG02 Watford Sexual Health Centre 
			 Q35 RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWG03 The Waverley Wing 
			 Q31 RWJ Stockport NHS Foundation Trust RWJ09 Stepping Hill Hospital 
			 Q31 RWW North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWWHG Halton General Hospital 
			 Q31 RWW North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWWWH Warrington and District General Hospital 
			 Q32 RWY Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust RWY06 Laura Mitchell Health Centre 
			 Q32 RWY Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust RWYJJ Princess Royal Health Centre 
			 Q33 RX1 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust RX1CC Nottingham City Hospital 
			 Q32 RXF Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust RXF04 Clayton Hospital 
			 Q32 RXF Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust RXF10 Dewsbury District Hospital 
			 Q37 RXH Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust RXH01 Claude Nicol Centre 
			 Q34 RXK Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust RXK01 Dartmouth Clinic Sandwell General Hospital 
			 Q30 RXP County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust RXPBA Bishop Auckland General Hospital 
			 Q30 RXP County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust RXPCP University Hospital of North Durham 
			 Q30 RXP County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust RXPDA Darlington Memorial Hospital 
			 Q38 RXQ Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust RXQ50 Wycombe General Hospital 
			 Q31 RXR East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust RXR10 Burnley General Hospital 
			 Q31 RXR East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust RXR20 Royal Blackburn Hospital 
			 Q34 5MK Telford and Wrekin PCT RXWAS Royal Shrewsbury Hospital 
			 Q34 5MK Telford and Wrekin PCT RXWAT The Princess Royal Hospital 
			 Q30 TAC Northumberland Care Trust TAC02 Northumberland Clinic

Gonorrhoea

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many marsupialisation operations have been performed to treat bartholinitis caused by neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in NHS trusts in England in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Data for finished consultant episodes where the main procedure was marsupialisation operations performed for Bartholinitis and the primary diagnosis was Neisseria gonorrhoeae in England for the years 2003-04 to 2007-08 are given in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 1 
			 2006-07 2 
			 2005-06 4 
			 2004-05 2 
			 2003-04 0 
			  Notes:   Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Finished consultant episode A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. The figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD 10 code used: A54.1Gonococcal infection of lower genitourinary tract without periurethral and accessory gland abscess.  Main procedure The main procedure is the first recorded procedure or intervention in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedure. OPCS 4.4/4.5 code used: P03.2 Marsupialisation of Bartholin gland.  Changes to coding classifications: OPCS-4 Operative procedure codes were revised for 2006-07 and 2007-08. The 2007-08 data use OPCS 4.4 codes, 2006-07 data use OPCS 4.3 codes, data prior to 2006-07 use OPCS 4.2 codes. All codes that were in OPCS 4.2 remain in later OPCS 4 versions, however the introduction of OPCS 4.3 codes enable the recording of interventions and procedures which were not possible in OPCS 4.2. In particular, OPCS 4.3 and OPCS 4.4 codes include high cost drugs and diagnostic imaging, testing and rehabilitation. Some activity may have been coded under different codes in OPCS 4.2. These changes need to be borne in mind when analysing time series and may explain some apparent variations over time. Care needs to be taken in using the newer codes as some providers of data were unable to start using the new codes at the beginning of each data year. More information about OPCS 4 changes is on the Connecting for Health website (www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk).  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents he has issued since December 2008 consequent on the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects to bring into force those provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which are not yet in force; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill received Royal Assent in November 2008 becoming the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (the 2008 Act). The first provisions of the 2008 Act came into force on 6 April 2009. These provisions related to parenthood. The majority of provisions will come into force on 1 October 2009 and it is intended that the remaining provisions (relating to parental orders) will come into force in April 2010.
	Since December 2008, there has been one Statutory Instrument issued (the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2009. No departmental circulars have been issued but the Department of Health has published a consultation on four sets of regulations, which are required to implement the provisions in the 2008 Act. The consultation closed on 30 March 2009.

Mental Health Services

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received cognitive behavioural therapy in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: This information is not held centrally.

Mental Health: Unemployment

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to tackle mental health disorders associated with unemployment; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the link between mental health disorders and rising rates of unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: There are clear links between unemployment and poor mental health and well being. That is why in November 2007, my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) asked Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, to lead the development of a national strategy for mental health and employment. The strategy will help to ensure a co-ordinated approach across Government to the challenges faced by people of working age with mental conditions and improve their employment prospects. The strategy development is being overseen by representatives from the business, medical and academic worlds and will be published later this year.
	Further, on 8 March 2009, my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced an additional 13 million to support a package of measures to help people who are distressed, depressed or anxious as a result of the economic downturn. These measures include a greater provision of talking therapies and a new network of employment support workers.
	This extra money will build on the 4 million DWP initiative in which employment advisors are already working in 12 of the 35 new talking therapy services to help people keep their jobs if their mental health has put them at risk.

Missing Persons

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in the development of information-sharing protocols between NHS hospitals and the police to enable appropriate communications to take place in missing persons investigations.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has for a number of years required national health service trusts to establish protocols for the sharing of confidential patient-identifiable information with other organisations where that need arises. These must be governed by clear and transparent procedures that satisfy the requirements of law and associated guidance, and regulate working practices in both disclosing and receiving organisations.
	It is the responsibility of individual NHS organisations to determine which organisations should be included within local protocols and to ensure that information is shared appropriately.

NHS: Statistics

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what items of information are collected centrally from NHS organisations in respect of the critical care minimum dataset.

Ben Bradshaw: The items collected centrally through the critical care minimum dataset are as follows:
	Critical Care Local Identifier;
	Critical Care Start Date;
	Critical Care Unit Function;
	Advanced Respiratory Support Days (Number);
	Basic Respiratory Support Days (Number);
	Advanced Cardiovascular Support Days (Number);
	Basic Cardiovascular Support Days (Number);
	Renal Support Days (Number);
	Neurological Support Days (Number);
	Dermatological Support Days (Number);
	Liver Support Days (Number);
	Critical Care Level 2 Days (Number);
	Critical Care Level 3 Days (Number); and
	Critical Care Discharge Date.

Nurses: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent nurses in each specialty there were working in the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: A table showing the number of full-time equivalent nurse by speciality in the years requested has been placed in the Library.

Nurses: Manpower

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average ratio of nurses to patients was at each hospital in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) the Tees Valley in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Obesity: Children

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were  (a) overweight and  (b) obese in the last period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available in the form requested.
	Information on the proportion of children aged two to 15 in England that are overweight or obese, broken down by age is collected by the Health Survey for England.
	This information can be found in tables 8.2 on page 236 of Health Survey for England 2007: Volume 1 lifestyles: knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, which was published on 16 December 2008. This publication has been placed in the Library.
	Further information on the proportion of children that are overweight or obese in England is also collected through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The NCMP report provides high-level analyses of the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children, in Reception year (aged four-five years) and Year 6 (aged 10-11 years), measured in England in the school year 2007-08.
	This information is available in the National Child Measurement Programme: 2007/08 school year, headline results which was published on 11 December 2008. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in England is shown in table 1 of the NCMP 2007-08 data tables. This publication has already been placed in the Library.

Obstetrics: Consultants

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many obstetric consultants were employed in England in each of the last five years; and how many were employed in each hospital trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The number of consultant obstetricians employed by the national health service in England in each of the last five years and the numbers by hospital trust in the most recent year for which figures are available are given in a table which has been placed in the Library.

Pharmacy

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community pharmacies have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: Information for England and Wales is available in tables 5 and 5a of the bulletin General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 1998-99 to 2007-08, published by the Information Centre for health and social care.
	Copies of the latest bulletin have been placed in the Library and at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/pharmacies/general-pharmaceutical-services-in-england-and-wales-1998-99-to-2007-08

Prescriptions

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2009,  Official Report, column 252W, on prescriptions, which primary care trusts have a procedure to report errors relating to the prescribing and supply of drugs to the National Patient Safety Agency.

Phil Hope: The information is not held centrally. The National Patient Safety Agency encourages the reporting of patient safety incidents which are submitted on a voluntary basis from national health service organisations including primary care trusts.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will review his Department's programme designed to promote energy efficiency to ensure effectiveness.

Joan Ruddock: We review and evaluate our energy efficiency policies on a continual basis, with the most recent summaries published in the 2006 Climate Change programme, the 2007 Energy White Paper, and the 2007 Energy Efficiency Action Plan. The Heat and Energy Saving Strategy consultation, currently underway, has provided a fresh opportunity to review our strategy. In doing so, our aim is to ensure that our policies are capable of meeting the increased challenges over the next decade, particularly in light of our recently proposed carbon budgets over the period to 2022, and our legally-binding target to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent. by 2050.

Departmental Assets

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses.

Mike O'Brien: DECC has no land and property holdings and no other surplus assets have been transferred to the Department since formation.

Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 404W, on the economic situation, which energy and oil ministers attended the meeting hosted by his Department on 18 and 19 December 2008.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 24 April 2009
	The following Ministers attended the London Energy Meeting on 18 and 19 December 2008:
	Algeria: Dr. Chakib Khelil, Minister for Energy and Mining
	Angola: HE Eng Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, Minister for Petroleum
	Australia: The hon. Martin Ferguson AM MP, Minister for Resources and Energy
	Azerbaijan: HE Natig Aliev, Minister of Industry aid Energy
	Bahrain: HE Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza, Minister for Oil and Gas
	Brazil: HE Edison Lobao, Minister for Mines and Energy
	Canada: Ms Lisa Raitt MP, Minister of Natural Resources
	Germany: Jochen Homann, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
	India: Shri Marli Deora, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas
	Iran: HE Gholamhossein Nozari, Minister for Petroleum
	Iraq: HE Hussain al-Sharistani, Minister for Petroleum
	Italy: Mr. Claudio Scajola, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
	Japan: Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
	Kuwait: HE Muhammad Abdullah al-Aleem, Minister of Oil
	Libya: Dr. Shokri Ghanem, Chairman, National Oil Company of Libya
	Nigeria: Dr. Odein Ajumogobia, Minister for Pstroleum
	Oman: Dr. Mohammad bin Hamad al-Ruhmy, Minister for Petroleum and Gas
	Poland: Mr. Waldemar Pawlak, Vice-Premier and Minister for Economy
	Qatar: HE Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Attiyah, M:nister of Energy and Industry
	Saudi Arabia: HE Ali I al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources
	South Africa: Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, Minister of Minerals and Energy
	Spain: Mr. PeDr.o Marin, Minister of Energy
	The Netherlands: Ms Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of Economic Affairs
	UAE: HE Obeid bin Saif al Nassiri, Minister o f Petroleum and Mineral Resources
	United Kingdom: The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and the Minister of State, DECC (Mr. Mike O'Brien).
	USA: Mr. Jeffrey Kupfer, Deputy Secretary for Energy

Energy: Rural Areas

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent by the UK Government on energy-saving measures in rural communities in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales in each of the last five years.

Joan Ruddock: Both Warm Front and Decent Homes provide energy-saving measures to homes in the private and public sectors respectively. The Department for Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for Decent Homes, does not split data by rural and urban areas and therefore this data is not available for this programme.
	The figures for Warm Front spend in the past five years are as follows. The data is split in accordance with the Office of National Statistics' definition of rural and urban areas.
	
		
			   
			   Rural  Urban 
			 2004-05 12,629,835.18 105,924,222.76 
			 2005-06 17,438,767.99 127,452,054.17 
			 2006-07 36,582,126.42 243,362,656.92 
			 2007-08(1) 50,821,943.25 313,608,368.82 
			 2008-09 to 28 February(1) 57,291,838.28 316,466,440.93 
			 (1 )Please note that figures provided for 2007-08 and 2008-09 include spend generated through interaction with energy companies under the Energy Efficiency Commitment and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target respectively. Whilst this is not public expenditure, as it is not recorded on an urban/rural basis it cannot be removed from these data and maintain the distinction between urban and rural assistance. The total value of this spend in each year is as follows: 2007-08 : 44,575,836 2008-09 : 20,217,000 
		
	
	Fuel Poverty is a devolved matter and we are unable to provide data for the Scottish and Welsh administrations.

Fuel Oil: Canada

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the percentage of the UK's energy consumption accounted for by fuels sourced from the exploitation of oil sands in Alberta, Canada.

Mike O'Brien: It is not possible to identify the region within Canada of oil and oil product imports. In 2007, the latest year for which full data are available, imports of oil and oil products from Canada were equivalent to less than 0.1 per cent. of the UK's primary energy demand.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letter of 10 February 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr T Bannister.

Mike O'Brien: I understand the office of my right hon. Friend has now had a response.

Nuclear Power Stations

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations the Government have received from  (a) EDF,  (b) E.ON,  (c) RWE and  (d) the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the nomination of sites for new nuclear power stations.

Mike O'Brien: The Government have conducted two consultations on the SSA process. We consulted on the principle of conducting the SSA process in 2007 and then on the detail of the process in 2008. We received consultation responses from energy companies in relation to both consultations and we have published those responses on the Department's website at
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/consultations/closedwithresponse/index.html.
	As part of the consultation on the SSA process and criteria, the Government also held a roundtable meeting with potential nominators, including RWE, EoN, EDF and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Minutes of the meeting and the responses to the consultation received from potential nominators can be viewed at the above website.
	Officials also met with non-governmental organisations and other interested parties to discuss the siting process.
	After the close of the consultation on the SSA process, the Government published guidance on the SSA process as part of the Government Response to the SSA Consultation in January this year. The Government have had discussions with potential nominators and others in the run up to the deadline for receipt of nominations (31 March 2009), in particular to answer enquiries about the process for assessment and what is required of nominators.
	As we made clear in the Government response, the Government will maintain a dialogue with nominators during the assessment. This may include discussing any areas of concern on the nomination and requesting further information or clarification on the nominations.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in what locations paper copies of his Department's published documents relating to the 11 possible sites for new nuclear plants have been placed.

Mike O'Brien: Site nominations are available for viewing online at:
	www.nuclearpowersiting.decc.gov.uk
	Paper versions of nomination forms, accompanying guidance and response forms have been sent to the following locations, as agreed with the appropriate local authority and detailed on our website and in local media:
	
		
			  Nomination  Locations 
			 Bradwell West Mersea town council, Melrose Road, or Colchester town hall; the following libraries: Burnham-on-Crouch, Maldon, Southminster, Wickham Bishops, West Mersea, Tiptree, Chelmsford, South Woodham Ferrers, Danbury or Colchester. 
			   
			 Dungeness Kent County Hall in Maidstone, Shepway district council in Folkestone, the One Stop Services in Hythe, New Romney or Lydd. 
			   
			 Hartlepool Hartlepool Civic Centre, Victoria Road, or Bryan Hanson House, Hanson Square, or any library in Hartlepool. 
			   
			 Heysham County Hall in Preston, Lancaster town hall, Morecambe town hall, Lancaster Planning Services at Palatine Hall, Morecambe town centre library, Bolton-le-Sands library, Heysham library, or other principal libraries in Lancashire. 
			   
			 Hinkley Point Somerset county council, County Hall, Taunton; West Somerset council, West Somerset House, Williton; the Customer Centre, Summerland Road, Minehead; Sedgemoor district council, Bridgwater House; Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge town council, Jaycroft Road; people can also contact their parish or town council. 
			   
			 Oldbury Any of the three South Gloucestershire council 'One Stop Shops' located at the council offices in Thornbury, Yate and Kingswood, and Thornbury library. 
			   
			 Sellafield, Kirksanton, Braystones Copeland borough council, Whitehaven, Millom council centre, St. George's Road or Cleator Moor council centre; libraries in Allerdale and Copeland and at the four main libraries in Barrow, Kendal, Penrith and Carlisle. 
			 Sizewell Ipswich borough council, Suffolk county council or Suffolk coastal district council; the following libraries: Leiston, Saxmundham, Aldeburgh, Woodbridge, Southwold, Lowestoft, Framlingham, Wickham Market or Ipswich Central. 
			   
			 Wylfa The Planning Department reception at Anglesey county council, Llangefni; the following libraries: Menai Bridge, Beaumaris, Llangefni, Holyhead and Amlwch.

Nuclear Power Stations: Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether Ministers plan to attend public meetings in the 11 communities identified as potential sites for new nuclear power stations.

Mike O'Brien: Detailed meeting plans as part of this consultation are not yet finalised.

Nuclear Power Stations: Security

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met the Chairman of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority to discuss the security of nuclear sites.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 24 April 2009
	On 20 April 2009.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) of 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 931W, on renewable energy, when he plans to begin the consultation on feed-in tariffs.

Mike O'Brien: In July 2009.

Warm Front Scheme

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the monetary value of Warm Front installations was in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of Warm Front installations undertaken by Eaga and its subsidiaries.

Joan Ruddock: The following table summarises the total grant spend on installations delivered under the Warm Front programme from 1 June 2005 to 28 February 2009, together with the amount that has been paid to Eaga and its subsidiaries for measures installed by those subsidiaries.
	
		
			   
			   Total spend on installations under Warm Front programme  Total spend on installations completed by Eaga and subsidiaries 
			 2005-06 154,600,000 12,384,000 
			 2006-07 253,251,000 43,136,000 
			 2007-08 303,462,000 58,462,000 
			 2008-09 302,208,000 72,263,000

Warm Front Scheme

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Warm Front installations there have been in each of the last five years; and how many were undertaken by Eaga and its subsidiaries.

Joan Ruddock: The following table details the number of households assisted by Warm Front in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Scheme year  Assisted households 
			 2004-05 139,724 
			 2005-06 153,785 
			 2006-07 253,079 
			 2007-08 268,900 
			 2008-09(1) 211,920 
			 (1) To 20 March. 
		
	
	Eaga subsidiaries have delivered 29 per cent. of installed measures since 2005, prior to which no Eaga subsidiaries worked on the Warm Front scheme.

JUSTICE

Bail Accommodation and Support Service

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints have been received by his Department and its agencies from residents close to ClearSprings properties since their introduction, broken down by the smallest administrative geographical unit for which records are kept.

David Hanson: The information requested cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Care Proceedings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many care orders have been  (a) sought and  (b) granted in each month in 2009 to date.

Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the number of care orders applied for, and the number of care orders made, in January and February 2009 in England and Wales. Figures for March 2009 are not yet available, as the centrally-held data are not yet complete.
	The figures relate to the number of applications and orders counted by child. This means that if an application or order relates to two children then it will be counted twice. The figures cover the family proceedings courts and county courts, but exclude the small proportion of cases dealt with in the High Court (in 2007 the High Court received 3.1 per cent. of all care order applications in England and Wales, and made 3.4 per cent. of all care orders).
	Research undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Justice has identified that some cases transferred from a family proceedings court (FPC) to a county court have been incorrectly identified as new applications made to the county court. This may therefore inflate the number of reported applications.
	
		
			  Number of care orders applied for, and number of care orders made, in county courts and family proceedings courts in England and Wales during January and February 2009 
			   Applications made  Orders made 
			 January 1,226 366 
			 February 1,369 467 
			  Note: These figures are provisional, subject to updates made on the FamilyMan database.  Source: This information is taken from the HMCS FamilyMan database and manual returns sent in by FPCs. High court activity is not counted

Corruption

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of offences relating to bribery in each of the last 10 calendar years.

Maria Eagle: Information showing the number of persons found guilty at all courts for offences relating to bribery in England and Wales from 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  The number of persons found guilty at all courts for offences relating to bribery in England and Wales, 1998 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			  Offence  Statute  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 5338 Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 S.1(3) 11 8 20 11 19 6 4 1 10 12 
			 9999 Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 S.1(l) and 1.(2)(4) 6 3 5 2  1   3  
			 9905 Representation of the People Act 1983 ss.113-1155  l 1   1 2 4  4 
			  Total 17 12 26 13 19 8 6 5 13 16 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes the corresponding offence description(s):  Agent corruptly accept/obtain/agree to accept/attempt obtain a gift/consideration for self/another as inducement/reward. Corruptly give/agree to give/offer gift/consideration to an agent as inducement/reward. Agent knowingly use receipt/account/document containing false/defective statement with intent to deceive principal. Agent knowingly give receipt/account/document containing false/defective statement with intent to deceive principal. (4 )Includes the corresponding offence description(s):  Corruptly solicit/receive/agree to receive for self/other gift/loan/fee/reward/advantage as reward to do/not do an act. Incite another to corruptly solicit/receive/agree to receive for self/other gift/loan/fee/reward/advantage as reward to do/not do an act. Corruptly give/promise/offer a gift/loan/fee/reward/advantage as reward to do/not do an act. Conspire to corruptly give/promise/offer a gift/loan/fee/reward/advantage as reward to do/not do an act. Incite another to corruptly give/promise/offer a gift/loan/fee/reward/advantage as reward to do/not do an act. (5 )Includes the corresponding offence description(s):  Bribery at election. Treating at election. Use undue influence at election.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis UnitMinistry of Justice

Damages

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reason the publication of the Government's response to the consultation on the law on damages is not taking place in accordance with the originally planned timetable; when he plans to publish the response; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The consultation on the law on damages closed on 27 July 2007. The consultation paper considered proposals put forward in a series of Law Commission reports and consequently covered a number of distinct and complex issues. There were 103 responses, many very detailed, that required careful consideration. This work has taken longer than planned, partly because of the scale or the response and the inherent complexity. The Government do, however, intend to publish a response paper outlining the way forward as soon as possible.

Debt Collection

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were given custodial sentences in magistrates courts as a consequence of defaulting on council tax payments in England and Wales in each year between 1998 and 2008.

Maria Eagle: Available information on those received into prison establishments by way of enforcement proceedings for community charge/council tax, from 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the table. Data for 2008 will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Receptions into prison for non-payment of the community charge/council tax England and Wales, 1998  to  2007 
			   Number of persons 
			 1998 194 
			 1999 101 
			 2000 41 
			 2001 29 
			 2002 21 
			 2003 30 
			 2004 28 
			 2005 21 
			 2006 45 
			 2007 29 
		
	
	This information can be found in the following Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Debt Collection

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who defaulted on their debts in 2008-09  (a) would and  (b) would not otherwise have been affected by the provisions of enforcement restriction orders.

Bridget Prentice: The enforcement restriction order (ERO) is intended only for those with short-term problems, the court must be satisfied that there are realistic prospects of recovery, which will allow normal commitments to be met within six months, before an order can be made. This decision can only be made on a case by case basis taking into account the circumstances of each individual case.
	It is not possible to say what effect the ERO provisions would have had on those who defaulted on their debts in 2008-09 without knowing their individual circumstances. The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average server capacity utilisation by each division of his Department and its predecessor was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: There are more than 1,900 servers distributed across the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and National Offender Management Service (NOMS) IT estates. There are many different elements to server capacity utilisation and the information we have provided below is for server capacity utilisation as it relates to disc space. Figures are provided from November 2007 (the earliest data point after award of the new MOJ HQ and HMCS IT contracts) and for regular intervals thereafter.
	
		
			  Average server capacity utilisation 
			  Percentage 
			   1 November 2007  26 September 2008  6 April 2009 
			 HQ and associated offices 30 36 31.8 
			 HMCS and Tribunals 31.2 30.9 30.4 
			 HMCS Magistrates Courts 36 36.5 35.5 
		
	
	On the NOMS estate (including HMPS), there are over 600 servers hosting a variety of services. Depending on the server and service provided, a number of capacities are measured, with alerts raised if these exceed per-defined thresholds. Detailed information for NOMS (including HMPS) is not held centrally, so cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average fine imposed for driving without insurance was  (a) in each of the last 11 years and  (b) in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The average fine imposed at magistrates courts and at the Crown court for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2007 (latest available) are shown in the following table.
	Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  Average fine imposed at the magistrates court and the Crown court for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) , England and Wales, 1997 to 2007( 2, 3) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003( 4)  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Magistrates courts 224 214 212 203 150 155 160 169 177 185 194 
			 Crown Court 149 156 193 183 214 150 142 167 185 339 201 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.143(2). (2) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Prison Service: Dismissal

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in each  (a) age and  (b) ethnic group have been dismissed from each London prison in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The figures provided on dismissals include staff dismissed for reasons of conduct, performance or attendance. 60 per cent. of dismissals in 2008 were related to attendance.
	Dismissal of staff for poor attendance has helped to reduce the sickness absence rate across the Prison Service by 17 per cent. over the last five years.
	Where dismissal is the result of disciplinary cases, these are for very serious matters such as racial/sexual harassment, assault, following criminal conviction.
	Information on the number of staff employed and dismissed, including for reasons of attendance, performance and conduct in each London establishment from 2004 to 2008 is shown in the following tables. The tables show the dismissals, split by age and ethnicity.
	
		
			  Staff in post 28 February 2009 
			  Location  Function  Operational capacity  Staff employed 
			 Belmarsh Male local 910 963 
			 Brixton Male local 798 353 
			 Feltham Male closed YOI 762 738 
			 Holloway Female local 500 520 
			 Latchmere House Semi open 207 84 
			 Pentonville Male local 1,152 626 
			 Wandsworth Male local 1,644 707 
			 Wormwood Scrubs Male local 1,277 586 
		
	
	
		
			  Dismissals from London establishments by age2004 - 08 
			Age at leaving  
			  Year of leaving  Establishment  20  20-29  30-39  40-49  50-60  60  Total 
			 2004 Belmarsh 0 0 1 4 1 0 6 
			  Brixton 0 1 0 4 0 0 5 
			  Feltham 0 2 3 2 2 0 9 
			  Holloway 0 1 5 6 1 0 13 
			  Latchmere House 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 
			  Pentonville 0 1 1 1 2 0 5 
			  Wandsworth 0 0 5 3 0 0 8 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 0 6 5 7 4 0 22 
			  2004 total 0 12 20 28 11 0 71 
			  
			 2005 Belmarsh 0 1 1 2 0 0 4 
			  Brixton 0 2 2 4 4 0 12 
			  Feltham 0 1 5 3 1 0 10 
			  Holloway 0 2 1 4 4 0 11 
			  Latchmere House 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			  Pentonville 0 5 2 4 1 0 12 
			  Wandsworth 0 1 1 2 1 0 5 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 0 1 5 3 3 0 12 
			  2005 total 0 13 17 23 14 0 67 
			  
			 2006 Belmarsh 0 0 1 1 2 0 4 
			  Brixton 0 2 2 5 0 0 9 
			  Feltham 0 2 1 7 3 1 14 
			  Holloway 0 2 4 6 4 0 16 
			  Latchmere House 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Pentonville 0 2 5 5 2 1 15 
			  Wandsworth 0 4 5 4 1 0 14 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 0 1 2 3 0 0 6 
			  2006 total 0 13 20 31 12 2 78 
			  
			 2007 Belmarsh 0 0 1 2 4 0 7 
			  Brixton 0 0 2 0 1 1 4 
			  Feltham 0 0 3 4 0 0 7 
			  Holloway 0 1 1 2 1 0 5 
			  Latchmere House 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			  Pentonville 1 2 4 5 4 0 16 
			  Wandsworth 0 2 8 5 0 2 17 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 0 2 6 1 0 0 9 
			  2007 total 1 7 26 19 10 3 66 
			  
			 2008 Belmarsh 1 2 3 4 3 0 13 
			  Brixton 0 2 1 1 2 0 6 
			  Feltham 0 1 3 2 1 0 7 
			  Holloway 0 1 0 1 2 0 4 
			  Latchmere House 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			  Pentonville 0 3 2 4 3 0 12 
			  Wandsworth 0 3 6 6 2 2 19 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 
			  2008 total 1 15 15 20 13 2 66 
			  
			  Grand total 2 60 98 121 60 7 348 
		
	
	
		
			  Dismissals from London establishments by ethnicity2004 - 08 
			  Date left  Loc name  BME  White  No data  Total 
			 2004 Belmarsh 0 6 0 6 
			  Brixton 1 3 1 5 
			  Feltham 3 6 0 9 
			  Holloway 3 9 1 13 
			  Latchmere House 1 2 0 3 
			  Pentonville 0 5 0 5 
			  Wandsworth 5 1 2 8 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 9 12 1 22 
			  2004 total 22 44 5 71 
			   
			 2005 Belmarsh 1 2 1 4 
			  Brixton 6 5 1 12 
			  Feltham 1 7 2 10 
			  Holloway 2 7 2 11 
			  Latchmere House 1 0 0 1 
			  Pentonville 9 3 0 12 
			  Wandsworth 3 2 0 5 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 4 8 0 12 
			  2005 total 27 34 6 67 
			   
			 2006 Belmarsh 1 3 0 4 
			  Brixton 3 6 0 9 
			  Feltham 4 9 1 14 
			  Holloway 5 11 0 16 
			  Latchmere House 0 0 0 0 
			  Pentonville 5 8 2 15 
			  Wandsworth 2 6 6 14 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 2 4 0 6 
			  2006 total 22 47 9 78 
			   
			 2007 Belmarsh 1 6 0 7 
			  Brixton 2 2 0 4 
			  Feltham 0 7 0 7 
			  Holloway 1 5 0 6 
			  Latch me re House 1 0 0 1 
			  Pentonville 7 9 0 16 
			  Wandsworth 3 17 0 20 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 3 7 0 10 
			  2007 total 18 53 0 71 
			   
			 2008 Belmarsh 2 11 0 13 
			  Brixton 2 4 0 6 
			  Feltham 1 5 1 7 
			  Holloway 2 1 1 4 
			  Latchmere House 0 1 0 1 
			  Pentonville 3 8 1 12 
			  Wandsworth 6 13 0 19 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 1 1 2 4 
			  2008 total 17 44 5 66 
			   
			  Grand total 106 222 25 353

Prisons: Construction

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether any brownfield sites have been identified on which to build Titan prisons;
	(2)  what the timetable is for the construction of Titan prisons;
	(3)  when he plans to publish his response to the consultation with relevant parties on the building of Titan prisons;
	(4)  what the current estimated cost is of  (a) purchasing land for  (b) obtaining planning permission for and  (c) building Titan prisons;
	(5)  when the tendering exercise for the building of Titan prisons will commence.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement I made on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 569-81.

Prisons: Telephone Services

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take account of the steps taken by Ofcom in response to the super-complaint from the National Consumer Council on charges for payphone services from prisons in the tendering process for the next contract for the provision of payphone services to prisoners.

David Hanson: The current contract for the prisoner telephone system runs to 2011. In the re-tendering process to provide the telephone system after the current contract ends, the aim will be to provide a safe and secure system balanced with the need for reasonably priced calls for prisoners.
	We acknowledge the importance of prisoners keeping in touch with their family and positive influences, and seeking a reduction in the cost of calls will be a key feature in the re-tendering exercise. This must, however, be balanced with the need to provide a safe and secure system to prevent misuse of telephones by prisoners.

Prisons: Telephone Services

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will commission research on the effect on trends in re-offending following release of the access by prisoners to telephone services in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There are no plans to commission research as suggested. There has been no loss of access by prisoners to telephones within the prison system. Using pin technology the current contract to provide prisoners with telephone access was awarded to the supplier in 1998 and this service has been widely available since 2001. Before using the system prisoners are required to sign a compact agreeing to the terms and conditions of use. Providing a prisoner signs this compact s/he will have access to the prisoner telephone or pinphone system and there are no plans to change this.

Prisons: Telephone Services

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will commission research on the effects on the illegal use of mobile telephones within prisons of charges to prisoners for the use of prison payphones; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There are currently no plans to commission research on the effect of telephone charges on the use of mobile phones in prisons.
	The cost of telephone calls is determined under the terms of a national contract which is in place until 2011; however, we have recently reached an agreement with the supplier for some reduction to the cost of national and mobile calls which came into effect on 1 April 2009. To impose a reduction to the costs of calls without the supplier's agreement would require a large subsidy from the taxpayer.
	We are implementing a strategy to minimise the number of phones entering prisons, and to find or disrupt those that do enter. As part of the strategy, prisons are being provided with technologies to strengthen local security and searching strategies, in line with the recommendations in David Blakey's report Disrupting the Supply of Illicit Drugs into Prisons, published in July 2008. This includes the roll out of BOSS chairs to all prisons, and the deployment of other detection and disruption technologies.
	We have also strengthened the law, through the Offender Management Act 2007 (implemented in April 2008), which makes it a criminal offence with a punishment of up to two years' imprisonment to bring an unauthorised mobile phone or component part into a prison.

Reoffenders: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people were charged with offences whilst under the supervision of the probation services in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in the last (i) six months, (ii) year and (iii) five years;
	(2)  how many offenders re-offended while on probation in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in the last five years.

David Hanson: The number of offenders that were charged with offences while being supervised by the probation service is not available. This is because the extract of the police national computer held by the Ministry of Justice does not provide comprehensive coverage of charges. Data relating to the offending of offenders under probation supervision are based on proven reoffendingoffences which have led to a conviction or a caution.
	The measure of reoffending used to provide National Statistics for England and Wales is not broken down by area. However, newly published data on local adult reoffending (a different measure of reoffending to the national statistics) are broken down by probation area and local authority (upper tier only).
	Because the data are not broken down below the upper tier of the local authority area level there are no figures available for Hemel Hempstead.
	The number of offenders used to calculate the local reoffending rate for the Hertfordshire probation area between 1 October 2007 and 30 September 2008 is 10,229 and the reoffending rate is 7.93 per cent.
	The local measure measures the reoffending of all offenders on the probation caseload, aged 18 or over, at a certain point in time (a snapshot), while the national measure covers all offenders commencing a court order under probation supervision or released from custody during the first quarter of the year. Additionally, the local measure allows a three month period for reoffences to be committed, while the national measure allows a year.
	The local reoffending figures are produced by aggregating the data of four snapshots of the probation caseload. Therefore the number of offenders quoted above is approximately four times the number of offenders on the case load at any one time.
	A reoffending rate of 7.93 per cent. with a case load size of 10,229 does not mean that 811 different offenders committed a reoffence, as some offenders may have appeared in more than one cohort and reoffended more than once.
	It should be noted the probation supervision of some offenders may end during the period while their reoffending is being monitored. Therefore some reoffences may be committed after probation supervision has finished.
	For further details please see Local reoffending results 1 October 2007-30 September 2008 England and Wales available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/local-adult-reoffending-oct07-sept08.pdf
	This is the first time that reoffending data at the local level have been made available.

Theft: Lorries

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for the theft of a heavy goods vehicle in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Information held on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database cannot separately identify the number of convictions for the offence theft of a motor vehicle which relate to a heavy goods vehicle.

Youth Justice

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) remands in custody for under 18 year olds and  (b) court-ordered secure remands were for a period of seven days or less in the last year for which figures are available.

David Hanson: During the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, 671 young people under 18 were remanded in custody for a period of seven days or less; and 173 were remanded for a period of seven days or less to the care of a local authority with a requirement that they be accommodated in secure conditions. This information has been supplied by the Youth Justice Board and is drawn from administrative computer systems.
	We believe that young people should only be sent to custody as a last resort. The decision on whether to grant bail or remand a defendant in custody is one for the courts to make, in each case, in line with the statutory framework primarily set out in the Bail Act 1976.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2009,  Official Report, column 656W, on further education: finance, from which further education colleges he has received representations on the Learning and Skills Council's list of colleges affected by changes to its capital spending programme.

Si�n Simon: I have met and had correspondence with a large number of MPs and college principals and I will be continuing this dialogue. The nature of the contact to date has been to discuss individual concerns rather than specifically regarding the Learning and Skills Council's list of colleges affected by changes to its capital spending programme.
	We are aware that there are other colleges that will be at various stages of preparing their capital proposals. The response from the LSC in connection with the earlier question makes clear that some smaller projects were not included as they did not require national approval. Some colleges are also still submitting applications for approval in principle so the list will be subject to change.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has had with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on representations made by further education colleges to the LSC on  (a) the completeness and  (b) the accuracy of the LSC's list of colleges affected by changes to the LSC's capital spending programme.

Si�n Simon: I continue to have regular dialogue with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), as we consider how best to move forward with the further education capital investment programme.
	I have not had any specific discussions with the LSC on representations made by further education colleges on either the completeness nor on the accuracy of the LSC's list of colleges affected by changes to the LSC's capital spending programme.
	We are aware that there are other colleges that will be at various stages of preparing their capital proposals. The response from the LSC in connection with the earlier question makes clear that some smaller projects were not included as they did not require national approval. Some colleges are also still submitting applications for approval in principle so the list will be subject to change.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which Minister in his Department had responsibility for the further education capital programme in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Ministers are responsible for determining and monitoring the implementation of broad policy and to hold the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to account for delegated responsibilities. Effective implementation is the role of the LSC.
	My hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell) was Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education up until October 2008, during which time the further education capital programme was within his remit. When my hon. Friend left the Department in October, in my role as Under-Secretary, I took over in leading on the further education capital programme.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the sum to be allocated by his Department to new college buildings in each of the next six financial years.

Si�n Simon: Budget 2009 announced additional capital funding of 300 million for this spending review period (2009-10 and 10-11), which will allow the Learning and Skills Council to give approval to a limited number of projects starting in 2009-10.
	Recognising the long-term nature of capital projects, the Government are planning a continuing FE capital investment programme in future years, with a planning assumption of 300 million a year from 2011-12 to 2013-14 to be confirmed at the next spending review.
	This provides a provisional 1.2 billion in total to 2013-14 which should allow us to develop around 750 million of new schemes.

Further Education: Mergers

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many further education colleges have merged in each year since 1997.

Si�n Simon: The table sets out all further education colleges merged since May 1997.
	
		
			  Further education college mergers since 1997 
			  Further education colleges  Name of merged college  Date of merger 
			 Reading College of Arts and Technology and Berkshire College of Art and Design Reading College of Arts and Technology 6 January 1997 
			 De La Salle College and Pendleton College Pendleton College 7 February 1997 
			 Prior Pursglove College and South Park Sixth Form College Prior Pursglove College 1 August 1997 
			 Worcestershire College of Agriculture and Horticulture and Pershore College of Horticulture Pershore and Hindlip College 10 May 1997 
			 Hyde Clarendon College and Tameside College Tameside College 18 February 1998 
			 Airedale and Wharfedale College and Park Lane College Park Lane College 1 August 1998 
			 Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture and Norfolk College of Arts and Technology College of West Anglia 1 August 1998 
			 Clarenden College and Basford Hall College New College, Nottingham 1 August 1998 
			 East Birmingham College and Handsworth College City College, Birmingham 1 August 1998 
			 North Bolton College and South College, Bolton Bolton Sixth Form College 1 August 1998 
			 York College of Further and Higher Education and York Sixth Form College York College 1 April 1999 
			 Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture and East Durham Community College East Durham and Houghall Community College 1 June 1999 
			 Charles Keene College of Further Education and Leicester South Fields College Leicester College 1 August 1999 
			 New College, Nottingham and High Pavement Sixth Form College New College, Nottingham 1 April 1999 
			 Greenhill College and Harrow and Weald College Harrow College 1 June 1999 
			 Holme Lacy College and Pershore and Hindlip College The Pershore Group of Colleges 1 August 1999 
			 New College, Nottingham and Arnold and Carlton College New College, Nottingham 1 September 1999 
			 Bilston Community College and Wulfrun College Wolverhampton College 1 October 1999 
			 Kirkley Hall College and Northumberland College Northumberland College 1 January 2000 
			 Phoenix College and Merton College Merton College 1 April 2000 
			 The Rutland College and Tresham Institute Tresham Institute 1 August 2000 
			 Barnet College and Hendon College Barnet College 1 August 2000 
			 College of Care and Early Education and City of Bristol College City of Bristol College 1 August 2000 
			 Brooksby College and Melton Mowbray College Brooksby Melton College 1 September 2000 
			 Kingsway College and Westminster College Westminster Kingsway College 1 September 2000 
			 Trowbridge College, Chippenham College and Lackham College Wiltshire College 1 November 2000 
			 Walford College and North Shropshire College, Walford Walford and North Shropshire College 1 January 2001 
			 Abingdon College and West Oxfordshire College Abingdon and Whitney College 31 March 2001 
			 St. Austell College and Cornwall College Cornwall College 1 August 2001 
			 Basildon College and Thurrock College Thurrock and Basildon College 1 August 2001 
			 Dudley College of Technology and Rowley Regis College Dudley College of Technology 1 August 2001 
			 Shena Simon College and City College, Manchester City College, Manchester 1 September 2001 
			 Lewes Tertiary College and Eastbourne College Sussex Downs College 1 September 2001 
			 Broomfield College, Derby Tertiary College, Wilmorton and Mackworth College Derby College 1 January 2002 
			 Soundwell College and City of Bristol College City of Bristol College 1 January 2002 
			 Ealing Tertiary College and Hammersmith and West London College Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College 1 January 2002 
			 Coventry Technical College and Tile Hill College City College, Coventry 1 February 2002 
			 East Yorkshire College and Beverley College East Riding College 1 March 2002 
			 Brinsbury College and Chichester College of Arts, Science and Technology Chichester College 1 August 2002 
			 Teesside Tertiary College and Middlesbrough College Middlesbrough College 1 August 2002 
			 North Birmingham College and Sutton Coldfield College Sutton Coldfield College 1 April 2003 
			 Warwickshire College, Royal Leamington Spa and Moreton Morrell and Rugby College of Further Education Warwickshire College, Royal Leamington Spa, Rugby and Moreton Morrell 1 August 2003 
			 Oxford College, North Oxfordshire College and Rycotewood College Oxford and Cherwell College 1 August 2003 
			 Guildford College of Further and Higher Education and Merrist Wood College Guildford College of Further and Higher Education 1 August 2003 
			 Park College and Sussex Downs College Sussex Downs College 1 November 2003 
			 Daventry Tertiary College and Northampton College Northampton College 1 August 2004 
			 Rother Valley College and Rotherham College of Arts and Technology Rotherham College of Arts and Technology 1 August 2004 
			 Cannington College and Bridgwater College Bridgwater College 1 September 2004 
			 Tynemouth College and North Tyneside College Tyne Metropolitan College 1 March 2005 
			 Haywards Heath College and Crawley College Central Sussex College 1 August 2005 
			 Stockport College of Further and Higher Education and North Area College Stockport College 1 January 2006 
			 Isle College and College of West Anglia College of West Anglia 1 April 2006 
			 The People's College, Nottingham and Broxtowe College Castle College 1 June 2006 
			 Josiah Mason Sixth Form College and Sutton Coldfield College Sutton Coldfield College 1 August 2006 
			 Widnes and Runcorn Sixth Form College and Halton College Riverside College, Halton 1 August 2006 
			 The Newark and Sherwood College and Lincoln College Lincoln College 1 January 2007 
			 Brooklands College and Spelthorne College Brooklands College 1 August 2007 
			 Guildford College and Farnham College Guildford College 1 August 2007 
			 Sparsholt College (Agriculture and Horticulture) and Cricklade College Sparsholt College 1 August 2007 
			 Newcastle College and Skelmersdale College Newcastle College 1 August 2007 
			 Keighley College and Park Lane College Park Lane College 1 August 2007 
			 North Trafford College and South Trafford College South Trafford College 1 August 2007 
			 Salisbury College and Wiltshire College Wiltshire College 1 January 2008 
			 Manchester College of Arts and Technology and City College, Manchester The Manchester College 1 April 2008 
			 Penwith College and Truro College Truro College 1 April 2008 
			 Stockton Riverside College and Bede Sixth Form College Stockton Riverside College 30 April 2008 
			 North Devon College and East Devon College North Devon College 1 August 2008 
			 Dewsbury College and Huddersfield Technical College Kirklees College 1 August 2008 
			 Tamworth and Lichfield College, Rodbaston College and Cannock Chase Technical College South Staffordshire College 1 January 2009 
			 Salford College, Eccles College and Pendleton Sixth Form College Salford City College 1 January 2009 
			 Leeds College of Technology, Leeds Thomas Danby and Park Lane College Leeds City College 31 March 2009

Graduates: Unemployment

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of qualified  (a) law and  (b) medical graduates who are unemployed.

David Lammy: The following table gives the proportion of all Medical and Dentistry and Law first degree graduates who are employed, ILO unemployed (International Labour Organisation definition) and economically inactive respectively.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Medical and dentistry first degree graduates  Law first degree graduates 
			 Proportion of working aged population who are employed 93 81 
			 Proportion of working aged population who are ILO unemployed (1) 5 
			 Proportion of working age population who are economically inactive 6 14 
			 (1) Indicates that the sample size is based on such a small number of respondents that it is below the publication threshold.  Source: Labour Force Survey, Q4 2008 for working aged people (16 to 59-64-year-olds) in England 
		
	
	Focusing just on recent graduates we find that, six months after graduating 99.7 per cent. of Medical, Dentistry and Veterinary Science graduates are either in employment or further study; for Law graduates it is 96.3 per cent. These are taken from the HESA Employment Performance Indicators for the UK, available at:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/1185/141/

Higher Education: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  if he will recalculate the higher education initial participation rate for each year between 1999-2000 and 2005-06 using the same methodology as that used to produce the figures for 2007-08 issued on 31 March 2009;
	(2)  what discussions his Department had with  (a) higher education institutions,  (b) bodies representing higher education institutions and  (c) the UK Statistics Authority prior to the methodological change made to the calculation of the higher education initial participation rate for 2007-08.

David Lammy: The Statistical First Release published on 31 March estimated the Higher Education Initial Participation rate using a new methodology. The new method checks that an entrant aged 18 to 30 has not had more than six months' previous experience of higher education using data matched back over 12 years (10 years for FE colleges). As the SFR explained, 2007/08 is the first year that this has been possible using 12 years of matched data. However, in order to provide some time series comparison, and to demonstrate the impact of this change, the 2006/07 figure was also re-calculated using one fewer year of matching, as it was estimated that the missing twelfth year would make little difference to the rounded figure.
	The figures published in the SFR provide a robust basis for monitoring progress in future years. Earlier years' figures based on the old methodology were also given. Estimates for earlier years using the new methodology would be progressively less accurate, since fewer years' data are available to check for previous experience of higher education, and so they were not included in the SFR. However, it is possible to calculate such estimates with an assessment of the possible scale of the bias. Additional estimates for earlier years, alongside information on how to interpret them and compare them to the existing published trend, will be added as an appendix to the published SFR on 15 May.
	Following National Statistics procedures, the SFR release is timed to allow a minimum of time between production and release of the HEIPR, and prior access to the unpublished statistics is restricted. The change to the methodology was developed at a late stage in the publication process to resolve emerging concerns about the quality of the data. DIUS analysts consulted with HEFCE statisticians prior to release to confirm the robustness of the old and new methodologies. Given the fact that a robust alternative methodology was implementable in the time available, a decision was made by analysts to publish within the pre-announced timescale. In the interest of transparency, clear descriptions for the new methodology were shown within the SFR and figures for 2006/07 based on both the old and new methodologies were also provided.

Student Wastage: Higher Education

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of students first educated at secondary level in  (a) the state sector and  (b) independent schools who did not complete the first year of a university undergraduate degree course in the latest period for which information is available.

David Lammy: The latest figures derived from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Performance Indicators are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Non-continuation( 1)  rates for young entrants( 2)  to full-time first degree courses by type of school attended for the academic year 2005-06 
			  Previous school type  Number of young entrants  Non-continuation rate (percentage) 
			 State school 206,600 6.9 
			 Independent school 29,700 4.2 
			 (1) Non-continuation rates provide the percentage of students who enter an HEI in the academic year who are no longer in an HEI in the following academic year and have not qualified. (2) There are 24,900 students who do not continue their education and for whom it was not possible to identify a previous school type. The rate of discontinuation for these students was 12 per cent.

Students: Fees and Charges

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the Government's plans are for the future of the cap on tuition fees.

David Lammy: Our position remains that the first three years of the system of variable fees introduced in 2006 will be reviewed by an independent commission. We expect that commission to begin its work later this year, following the publication of our Framework for the future development of higher education.

Training: Speech Therapy

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to finance and maintain levels of enrolment on higher education courses for speech and language therapists.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	Within the overall resources allocated, it is a matter for each strategic health authority (SHA) to determine their own priorities including how much is spent on pre-registration training commissions for speech and language therapists. Under the current service level agreement with SHAs each SHA is expected to provide for investment in training commissions based on long-term workforce need and local financial plans.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Broadband: Rural Areas

Anne Milton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to improve the telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas to extend the provision of high speed broadband.  [Official Report, 14 May 2009, Vol. 492, c. 15MC.]

Patrick McFadden: The Budget confirmed the Government's plans to deliver a Universal Service for broadband up to 2 Mbps by 2012. This will allow virtually everyone to benefit from broadband services. The Budget also underlines the Government's commitment to helping business take full advantage of the opportunities offered in this area by announcing a review of Ofcom's powers and duties to ensure it can strike the right balance between supporting competition and encouraging investment. The Universal Service and Next Generation Access are also key aspects of the Digital Britain report, which will be published shortly.
	The Government will also be carrying out research on broadband 'Not spots' under the cross-Government paper Delivering Digital InclusionAn Action Plan for Consultation with the objective of putting information into the hands of local communities to enable them to manage the risks, and realise the opportunities of Next Generation Access locally and regionally, where they identify a need and want to activate their own solutions. This will also cover the devolved Administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Business: Carbon Emissions

Howard Stoate: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what  (a) practical support and  (b) funding opportunities are available to small and medium-sized businesses seeking to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they emit.

Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government provide a range of support to help small and medium businesses reduce their carbon emissions. These include:
	 (a) Practical support, in particular through the Government-funded Carbon Trust (CT), which provides advice via its website, specific web tools, publications, an advice line and face-to-face surveys for smaller business; and advice through Business Link (www.businesslink.gov.uk), and the regional development agencies. We are working to improve ease of access to this support via Business Link as part of the Solutions for Business programme.
	 (b) The Carbon Trust administers two schemes which provide financial support for small and medium-sized businesses to make energy efficient investments: an interest free loan scheme for investments in energy efficient equipment, and the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme which provides businesses that invest in designated energy efficient equipment with enhanced tax relief. The Chancellor announced an additional 100 million of investment for the loan scheme in the April 2009 Budget.

Business: Government Assistance

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  how much has been spent from the Capital for Enterprise Fund;
	(2)  how many businesses have received assistance from the Capital for Enterprise Fund.

Ian Pearson: The Capital for Enterprise Fund (CfEF) is targeted at small businesses who have exhausted their traditional borrowing capacity. The CfEF will provide 75 million of equity to these businesses.
	As at 25 March 2009, there have been 1,013 inquires to the Capital for Enterprise Fund registration helpline with 311 businesses seriously exploring whether the fund may be of benefit to them. 253 businesses have registered their interest in the fund and out of these 51 businesses have met the eligibility criteria and have supplied all the required information (business plans and accounts) with the amount of potential funding required being 44.5 million.
	Fund mangers have been appointed (Aberdeen Assets and Octopus Investments) and have shortlisted five advanced investment propositions with strong potential for deal flow using CfEF, totalling over 5 million. These are currently going through due diligence and we would expect initial investments shortly.

Capital for Enterprise Fund

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many businesses he estimates will have debt transferred to equity under the Capital for Enterprise Fund in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010 and  (c) 2011.

Ian Pearson: The Capital for Enterprise Fund (CfEF) is targeted at small businesses who have exhausted their traditional borrowing capacity. The CfEF will provide 75 million of equity to these businesses.
	As at 25 March 2009, there have been 1,013 inquires to the Capital for Enterprise Fund registration helpline with 311 businesses seriously exploring whether the fund may be of benefit to them. 253 businesses have registered their interest in the fund and out of these 51 businesses have met the eligibility criteria and have supplied all the required information (business plans and accounts) with the amount of potential funding required being 44.5 million.
	Fund mangers have been appointed (Aberdeen Assets and Octopus Investments) and have shortlisted five advanced investment propositions with strong potential for deal flow using CfEF, totalling over 5 million. These are currently going through due diligence and we would expect initial investments shortly.

Civil Servants

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) job title,  (b) main responsibilities,  (c) Civil Service pay band and  (d) annual salary of (i) Gez Sagar, (ii) Will Parkes, (iii) Peter Power, (iv) Stephen Adams and (v) Fiona Cookson are; whether each receives any payments from other sources; and whether the post filled by each was advertised externally.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 24 April 2009
	Gez Sagar is a communications consultant working on a project to coordinate economic communications across Government Departments. Stephen Adams is employed on a one year fixed term contract as Strategy and Policy Adviser to the Secretary of State. Fiona Cookson has been appointed deputy head of news. Peter Power is Press Secretary to the Secretary of State seconded to the civil service on a one year fixed term from the European Commission. We do not release details of individual salaries. The EC makes good Peter Power's salary to EC level. No one else named receives payment from any other source. All have been appointed in accordance with the Civil Service (Amendment) (No 2) Order in Council 2008 which regulates recruitment into the Civil Service.
	Will Parkes is not a BERR employee but is seconded into Government on a two month fixed term placement to share knowledge end expertise of the private sector.
	These are all civil servant not special adviser posts.

Construction: Government Assistance

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of businesses in the construction and building industries that could be eligible for assistance under the Government's loan guarantee scheme;
	(2)  whether there are any restrictions on businesses in the construction and building industries applying for assistance under the Government's loan guarantee scheme.

Ian Pearson: The enterprise finance guarantee is intended to be available to the widest range of viable small and medium sized businesses with a turnover of under 25 million as possible. No estimates were made in relation to potential effects on specific sectors.
	The EFG sector restrictions were recently reviewed and an overview of the main restrictions has been published on the BERR website. There remain sector restrictions on the owning and dealing in real estate.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) printers and  (b) multi-function devices with printing functions were in use in each division of his Department and its predecessor in each of the last five years; how many such devices had a function enabling two-sided printing; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Over the last five years the Department has significantly rationalised its printer estate in parallel with reducing the number of buildings it occupies. The majority of printers are located in shared ICT bays rather than by division to ensure optimum use. All have duplex printing facilities. The number of printers in current use is 688, of which 95 have multi function facilities. Greater use of multi function printers will be considered at the next contractual refresh point under the Department's PFI agreement with Fujitsu who supply the printers.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: As IT services in BERR are provided under a PFI agreement put in place before the introduction of the Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard it is not possible to provide the information as requested. However, IT equipment provided under the contract is Energy Star, Blue Angel and WEEE compliant.

Furniture: Government Assistance

Mike Wood: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects the credit insurance scheme to be available to small and medium-sized businesses in the furniture industry.

Ian Pearson: Budget 2009 announced a scheme providing up to 5 billion of additional trade credit insurance to businesses who have suffered reductions in their level of cover.
	The scheme will be open to businesses of all sizes and in all sectors, including the furniture industry.
	Subject to parliamentary approval, from 1 May until 31 December this year, UK businesses will be able to purchase six months' 'top-up' insurance from the Government if credit limits on their UK customers are reduced. The qualifying window will be backdated to include any reductions since 1 April.
	Further details of the scheme can be found at:
	http://www.businesslink.co.uk/creditinsurance

Holiday Leave

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the annual cost to businesses of the increase in the annual statutory holiday entitlement from 24 to 28 days.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 24 April 2009
	In its election manifesto, the Government proposed an extension to the statutory entitlement to four weeks' paid holiday required under the EU Working Time Directive, making it additional to the number of bank holidays in England and Wales. This ensures all workers are entitlement to a minimum of 28 days holiday a year.
	The extension was implemented in two phases to help small and medium businesses. The second phase extended the right from 24 to 28 days holiday a year. The cost to business of this second phase was estimated at between 1.8 and 2.4 billion. The estimated cost to business and benefit to workers comes from the Department's full impact assessment. As part of this assessment, the Department conducted a paid annual leave survey that showed the lowest paid, including part-time employees, women and those from ethnic minorities would benefit most from the increase in holiday entitlement.

LDV

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in discussions with the LDV Group on assisting the company in dealing with the effects of the economic downturn.

Ian Pearson: We have and will continue to offer advice and support to LDV where we can. However, the primary responsibility for LDV is with its parent company, Gaz.

LDV

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect on car dealerships should LDV go into receivership.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 27 March 2009
	No detailed assessment has been made of the effect on dealerships should LDV go into receivership. However, dealerships are eligible for support from a range of Government programmes and details are available at:
	http://www.realhelpnow.gov.uk/.
	.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire of 13 February 2009 and 3 March 2009 on his constituent Mr Simon Cavendish.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 24 April 2009
	I responded to the hon. Member on 21 April 2009. I apologise for the delay.

Mobile Phones: Minerals

Steve Webb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will have discussions with representatives of the mobile phone industry to discourage the use in the manufacture of mobile phone batteries of minerals which may have come from conflict zones; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 27 March 2009
	I have no current plans to meet representatives of the mobile phone industry to discuss this issue.

Motor Vehicles: Government Assistance

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  for what reasons the motorcycle industry is not eligible for assistance under the Automotive Assistance Programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will extend eligibility for assistance under the Automotive Assistance Programme to the motorcycle industry; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Government receive numerous requests for assistance from a wide range of sectors and have to consider a wide range of factors when deciding to act. The decision to support the automotive industry during the current difficulties through the Automotive Assistance programme (AAP) was based around a number of factors. The industry is a major employer in the UK and a major investor in research and development. Additionally, the car industry is required to achieve significant reductions in carbon dioxide (C02) emissions from 2012. Motorcycles are not covered by the CO2 from New Cars Regulation and we do not intend to extend eligibility under the AAP to the motorcycle industry.

Postal Workers

John Cummings: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment has been made of the level of risk of anthrax infection to workers in Royal Mail postal sorting offices arising from terrorist action; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Central Government departments and the emergency services work closely with Royal Mail to ensure that effective procedures and measures are in place for managing the risk to the company's staff and operations and to members of the wider public from chemical or biological agents in the postal system. Royal Mail ensures that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite are actively involved in the development and introduction of procedures and measures in support of its response capability.

Regional Planning and Development

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what regional industrial development boards there are; what the correspondence address of each such board is; and whether each such board is co-located with a regional development agency.

Patrick McFadden: There are currently seven regional industrial development boards which together cover all nine English regions. They are listed, with their correspondence address, as follows. With the exception of the London and South East Industrial Development Board and the Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands Industrial Development Board, each of which is co-located with two regional development agencies, the boards are co-located with a single regional development agency.
	 East of England Industrial Development Board,
	East of England Development Agency,
	The Business Centre,
	Station Road,
	Histon,
	Cambridge CB24 9LQ.
	 London and South East Industrial Development Board,
	London Development Agency,
	Palestra,
	197 Blackfriars Road,
	London SE1 8AA.
	and
	South East England Development Agency,
	Cross Lanes,
	Guildford,
	Surrey GU1 1YA.
	 North East Industrial Development Board,
	One North East,
	Stella House,
	Goldcrest Way,
	Newburn Riverside,
	Newcastle Upon Tyne,
	NEI5 8NY.
	 North West Industrial Development Board,
	Northwest Regional Development Agency,
	PO Box 37,
	Renaissance House,
	Centre Park,
	Warrington,
	Cheshire WAI 1XB.
	 Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands Industrial Development Board,
	Yorkshire Forward,
	Victoria House,
	2 Victoria Place,
	Leeds LS11 5AE.
	and
	East Midlands Development Agency,
	Apex Court,
	City Link,
	Nottingham NG2 4LA
	 South West Industrial Development Board,
	South West of England Regional Development Agency,
	North Quay House,
	Sutton Harbour,
	Plymouth PL4 0RA
	 West Midlands Industrial Development Board,
	Advantage West Midlands,
	3 Priestley Wharf,
	Holt Street,
	Aston Science Park,
	Birmingham B7 4BN.

Union Modernisation Fund

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1407W, on the Union Modernisation Fund, if he will place in the Library a copy of the action record of each of the decisions taken by the Supervisory Board to date.

Patrick McFadden: The records of decisions taken by the Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board will not be placed in the Libraries of the House because they contain commercially-sensitive information about unsuccessful bids. The results of successful bidders are published on the BERR website at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/trade-union-rights/modernisation/page16097.html

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the costs his Department incurred as a result of the Public Bill Committee on the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Bill sitting beyond 6.30 pm on 26 March 2009.

Si�n Simon: I have been asked to reply.
	The total estimated cost to the Department was 2,279.97. This comprised 1,423.03 to cover additional travel and accommodation expenses, and 856.94 in discretionary payments to officials who attended the session.

Children in Care

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the long-term outcomes for children who have been cared for in  (a) family and friends care,  (b) family and friends foster care,  (c) stranger foster care and  (d) adoption.

Beverley Hughes: We do not collect data centrally on these discrete groups. However, research commissioned by the Department within the Quality Matters Research Initiative, suggests that on a range of measureshealth, education, emotional and behaviouralchildren in family and friends foster care tend to achieve similar outcomes compared to those in stranger foster care. An overview report of the Initiative will be published on 30 April. The findings from this Initiative will be disseminated to those working in the field and used to inform guidance.
	Many of the arrangements for children in family and friends care that is not foster care are private in nature, where no services have been requested from the local authority, so we do not have information about long term outcomes.
	The Adoption Research Initiative is exploring outcomes for children who have been placed for adoption or who are in other permanent placements, and will complete during 2010. The findings from this initiative will also be disseminated to those working in the field and used to inform guidance.
	Long-term outcomes for looked after children are improving. For example, between 2004 and 2008, the percentage of such children now aged 19 years who were in education other than higher education increased from 18 per cent. to 28 per cent. But we recognise that more needs to be done. Our Care Matters programme of reform is designed to ensure continued improvement in outcomes for looked after children.

Children in Care

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many family and friend  (a) carers and  (b) foster carers received no financial support in 2008-09.

Beverley Hughes: Family and friends caring for children who are not looked after by the state are a very broad group. Some will be caring for the child as a private family arrangement with the child's parents, where state intervention will not necessarily be appropriate, and the child and their carers may not be known to the local authority.
	Where a child being cared for by their relative or friend is not a looked after child, but is assessed as being in need, the local authority has the discretion to provide support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to support their upbringing by their family. The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 made it easier for local authorities to provide financial support under section 17 where that is appropriate. The number of families being supported in this way is not collected centrally.
	Where the local authority places a child with a relative or friend, so they are a looked after child, the family or friend must become approved as a foster carer and the fostering service provider must provide them with support on the same basis as for any other foster carer. Fostering service providers differ in the amount of support they provide. However, all providers should be paying their foster carers at least the national minimum allowance.

Children in Care

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average monetary level of financial support family and friend  (a) carers and  (b) foster carers received from each local authority in 2008-09.

Beverley Hughes: Where a child, who is not a looked after child, is being cared for by a relative or friend, the local authority has the discretion to provide support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to support their upbringing by their family. The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 made it easier for local authorities to provide financial under section 17 where that is appropriate. The number of families being supported in this way is not collected centrally.
	Where the local authority places a child with a relative or friend, so they are a looked after child, the family or friend must become approved as a foster carer and the fostering service provider must provide them with support on the same basis as for any other foster carer. The amount of financial support provided to family and friends foster carers is not collected centrally.
	Fostering service providers differ in the amount of support they provide, however, all providers should be paying their foster carers at least the national minimum allowance.

Children in Care: Drugs

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which care homes have administered behaviour controlling drugs to  (a) girls and  (b) boys (i) in the last 30 years and (ii) in the last 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: This information is not collected centrally by the Department.
	However, the regulations governing children's homes require them to promote and protect the health of the children accommodated. Children's homes do not prescribe medicinesthis is done by the GP or specialist mental health services. Children's homes must ensure that each child is registered with a GP and that any medicine prescribed to a child is administered as directed to the child for whom it is prescribed. A written record must be kept of the administration of any medication.
	The regulations and standards which apply to the children's homes also require measures of control and discipline to be based on methods which establish positive relationships with children and which are designed to help the child.

Children: Internet

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many working groups have been established to develop a code of practice for the moderation of user generated internet content as referred to in the Byron Review Action Plan; and who the members are of each such group.

Beverley Hughes: The Executive Board of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety has established four working groups to take forward the recommendations of the Byron Review. The groups are:
	1. Industry
	2. Better Education
	3. Public Awareness
	4. Video Games
	The Industry group will look to develop best practice and common standards across industry such as the recommendations for codes of practice for user generated content.
	The current members of the Industry group are as follows:
	
		
			  Member  Organisation 
			 Wincie Knight Nickelodeon UK 
			 Emma Ascroft Yahoo! UK and Ireland 
			 Hamish MacLeod Mobile Broadband Group 
			 Juliet Kramer T-Mobile 
			 Shereen Meharg Fox Interactive Media 
			 Anthony Langan* Samaritans 
			 Mark Gracey THUS, a Cable and Wireless business 
			 Robin Blake Ofcom 
			 Richard Murray Jagex Ltd. 
			 Will Gardner Childnet International 
			 David Fatscher BSI British Standards 
			 Julian Coles BBC 
			 Alan Dykes* Ubisoft 
			 Dave Simpson Sky 
			 Keren Mallinson Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) 
			 Adam Hildreth Crisp Thinking 
			 Trish Church Orange UK 
			 Alex Green Virgin Media 
			 Neil Scoresby BT plc. 
			 Donna Whitehead Microsoft 
			 Simon Sauntson* ELSPA 
			 Pamela Learmonth Broadband Stakeholder Group 
			 William Gore Press Complaints Commission 
			 Andrea Millwood Hargrave Millwood Hargrave Ltd./University of Oxford 
			 Elizabeth Kanter Research in Motion 
			 Richard Sargeant Google 
			 Peter Johnson British Board of Film Classification 
			 Zoe Hilton NSPCC 
			 Annie Mullins Vodafone Group 
			 Malcolm Hutty LINX 
			 Paul Kelly PAPYRUS 
			 Roy Edmonds Nickelodeon UK 
			 Mike Rawlinson ELSPA 
			 Alex Nagle CEOP 
			 Alan Penton RM 
			 Susan Daley Symantec 
			 Paul Massey Independent Consultant 
			 Sarah Dyer Beatbullying 
			 Ian Clarke ISPA

Children: Protection

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many regional seminars have been held by BECTA to assist local safeguarding children's boards; and what mechanisms his Department will use to assess their effectiveness.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 April 2009
	The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) held a total of 10 regional events during October and November 2008. 88 per cent. of all local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) were represented at these events. Feedback from the events was positive and each LSCB was invited to commit to an ongoing action plan on safeguarding children online to be monitored by BECTA.
	A survey by the Association of Directors of Children's Services on LSCBs carried out in January 2009 showed that, for example, of the 61 per cent. of LSCBs who responded, 96 per cent. included safeguarding children online in their business plan (87 LSCBs) and 93 per cent. had a specific sub-group or working group with safeguarding online as a key remit (85 LSCBs).

Pre-school Education: Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what factors are taken into account when allocating nursery education grant funding; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The nursery education grant (NEG) no longer exists. All funding for early years provision for both schools and (private voluntary independent) PVI providers is allocated through the dedicated schools grant (DSG). The DSG is distributed by giving every local authority a pre-determined amount per pupil each year, which is a combination of an uplift of their 2005-06 education spend, plus top-ups for ministerial priorities. Every local authority has had indicative budgets for 2008-11, in order to enable them to plan. We consulted on this methodology in 2007 and around two thirds of respondents were in favour of it for 2008-11.
	This gives each local authority an entire amount for their schools budget, which they then allocate across the education system including for the free entitlement to early years provision according to local priorities. From 2010, all local authorities will use a single locally-determined funding formula to distribute funding to all early years settings, including nursery classes in schools.

Schools: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much he has budgeted for the rebuilding of school buildings in each of the next six financial years.

Jim Knight: The Government's plans for capital investment in schools over the current spending period total 22.9 billion, including 1 billion carried forward from 2007-08. This is currently profiled as 6.2 billion in 2008-09, 8.9 billion in 2009-10 and 7.8 billion in 2010-11. These profiles include 1.3 billion of PFI credits in each year and reflect 0.9 billion brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10 as part of the fiscal stimulus plans. Available resources for 2011-12 onwards will be determined as part of the Government's next Spending Review.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department issues to local education authorities on the allocation of places at secondary schools to siblings of pupils at those schools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The School Admissions Code makes clear that schools and local authorities should be pragmatic in trying to keep families together, especially those with younger children. Most recognise the value of this and give priority to siblings of children attending the school, which must be clearly explained in admission arrangements.
	The Secretary of State recently asked the schools adjudicator to report on the admissions of twins to the same school, and to recommend any changes he thinks are needed. This report is due on 1 September 2009.

Sixth Form Education: Admissions

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many sixth form places for schools in Lancashire in 2009-10  (a) were provisionally allocated and  (b) have been confirmed.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not collect information on the number of sixth form places allocated.

Special Educational Needs: Disadvantaged

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in which  (a) special and  (b) mainstream schools more than 50 per cent. of pupils were on free school meals, more than four per cent. of pupils were children in care, and more than 20 per cent. of pupils had statements of special educational needs in the last period for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In January 2008 there were no maintained primary or state-funded secondary schools with more than 50 per cent. of pupils eligible for free school meals and more than 4 per cent. of children in care and more than 20 per cent. of pupils with a statement of special educational need. The requested information on special schools is shown in the following table.
	Information on pupils eligible for free school meals includes dually registered pupils. Information on pupils with a statement of special educational needs excludes dually registered pupils. Information on children in care is usually sourced from the looked after children database but this cannot be used to answer this question as it does not identify the school each child attends. However, data on pupils in care are also collected via the School Census.
	This census shows that there were 34,390 pupils aged five to 19 attending primary, secondary and special schools classed as being in care as at January 2008. Data published by the Department as SFR 23/2008: Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008, show 47,600 children aged between five and 19 as being looked after as at 31 March 2008. However the School Census does not cover all looked after children; information is not collected for pupils in alternative provision, including pupil referral units, FE colleges, voluntary provision and those not in education or training. These differences in coverage will explain the different counts to an extent, but it is possible that the School Census undercounts the number of looked after children in primary, secondary and special schools.
	The Department is working on a project to match the looked after children database to the national pupil database. If successful this would enable us to produce analysis for looked after children on a range of attainment indicators and characteristics, including information on free school meals and special educational needs. We are hoping to report on the findings including on the robustness of the matching exercise by the end of 2009.
	
		
			  Special schools with more than 50 per cent. of pupils on free school meals( 1) , more than four per cent of pupils who were children in care( 2)  and more than 20 per cent. of pupils had statements of special educational needs( 3) Position in January 2008 
			  Local authority  School 
			 Birmingham Springfield House Community Special School 
			 Birmingham Skilts School 
			 Birmingham Hamilton School 
			 Birmingham Victoria School 
			 Birmingham Mayfield School 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Fernhurst Secondary SEBD School 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Crosshill Special School 
			 Bolton Lever Park School 
			 Bromley Burwood School 
			 Camden Chalcot School 
			 Cheshire Capenhurst Grange School 
			 City of Bristol Notton House School 
			 City of Bristol Bristol Gateway School 
			 City of Bristol Woodstock School 
			 City of Nottingham Woodlands School 
			 Croydon Beckmead School 
			 Derbyshire Holly House Special School 
			 Dudley Rosewood School 
			 Durham The Meadows School 
			 Durham Elemore Hall School 
			 Durham Windlestone School 
			 Durham Walworth School 
			 Gateshead Eslington Primary School 
			 Greenwich Waterside School 
			 Greenwich Moatbridge School 
			 Hackney Stormont House School 
			 Hackney Downsview School 
			 Hackney Horizon School 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Gibbs Green School 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Cambridge School 
			 Hampshire Lakeside School 
			 Haringey Moselle School 
			 Hillingdon The Willows School 
			 Hounslow The Cedars Primary School 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Parkwood Hall School 
			 Kent NCH Westwood School 
			 Kent Meadows School 
			 Kent Portal House School 
			 Kent Furness School 
			 Kingston upon Hull Teskey King School 
			 Knowsley Knowsley Central Primary Support Centre 
			 Knowsley Highfield School 
			 Knowsley Alt Bridge Secondary Support Centre 
			 Lambeth The Michael Tippett School 
			 Lancashire The Rose School 
			 Leicester Keyham Lodge School 
			 Liverpool Lower Lee School 
			 Liverpool Hope School 
			 Liverpool Ernest Cookson School 
			 Liverpool Redbridge High School 
			 Liverpool Bank View High School 
			 Liverpool Clifford Holroyde Centre of Expertise 
			 Liverpool Palmerston School 
			 Manchester Southern Cross School 
			 Manchester Camberwell Park Community Special School 
			 Manchester Melland High School 
			 Manchester The Birches School 
			 Manchester Meade Hill School 
			 Medway Rivermead School 
			 Middlesbrough Priory Woods School 
			 Middlesbrough Holmwood School 
			 Middlesbrough Tollesby School 
			 Newcastle Trinity School 
			 Norfolk Fred Nicholson School 
			 Northumberland Atkinson House School 
			 Oxfordshire Bessels Leigh School 
			 Reading The Holy Brook School 
			 Redcar and Cleveland Pathways Special School 
			 Rochdale Brownhill School 
			 Salford New Park High School 
			 Sandwell Shenstone Lodge School 
			 Sefton Newfield School 
			 Sheffield Holgate Meadows Community Special School 
			 Solihull Lanchester School 
			 South Tyneside The Galsworthy Centre 
			 Southampton Vermont School 
			 Southampton The Polygon School 
			 Southend-on-Sea Priory School 
			 St. Helens Penkford School 
			 Stockton on Tees King Edwin School 
			 Stockton on Tees Westlands School 
			 Sunderland Springwell Dene School 
			 Surrey Wey House School 
			 Sutton Wandle Valley School 
			 Tower Hamlets The Cherry Trees School 
			 Tower Hamlets Bowden House School 
			 Trafford Egerton High School 
			 Walsall Phoenix Schools 
			 Walsall Elmwood School 
			 Wandsworth Elsley School 
			 Warrington Chaigeley School 
			 Wirral Gilbrook School 
			 Wirral Kilgarth School 
			 Wirral Clare Mount School 
			 Wirral Foxfield School 
			 Wirral Solar School 
			 Wolverhampton Westcroft School and Sports College 
			 (1) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils. (2) Includes solely and dually registered pupils aged five to 19 classed as being in care. Number of pupils recorded as being in care on the day of the School Census. We know from comparing data from the School Census with data from the DCSF's two main statistical collections on looked after children that there may be a degree of under-reporting in the School Census return of pupils who are looked after. (3) Excludes dually registered pupils.